


Beneath These Moons

by e_frye



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Romp through the forest, Serious Injuries, relationships put to the test
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:32:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 167,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5881234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_frye/pseuds/e_frye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey, Finn, Poe and Jessika are sent on an adventure to Dantooine after Rey has a vision of one of the many Jedi temples. Sent across the galaxy to find the unknown they end up mostly discovering things about themselves on the way. But in an abandoned Jedi temple Dantooine assumptions and knowledge are shattered as truths come to light, masters and apprentices are revealed and for some... alliances are changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For this fic Finn and Poe have already been a couple for quite a while.  
> Rey and Jessika not so much.

“No, no, the bounty hunter is in the ship!” Finn yelled out angrily as he looked at the screen in which the holo-drama was playing. He could feel Poe chuckling, his head rested comfortable on his chest Finn unable to see the other man silently mouthing the rest of the holo-drama.

Educating Finn in the cultural ways of the galaxy which he had been deprived of while in the First Order had become a project of immediate interest as soon as Finn awoke from his coma. Nearly every other night it was a new holo-drama for him to watch with Poe and several other X-wing pilots. He had been given a list as long as his arm of novel recommendations, notes on which foods to eat or music to listen to from other people on the Resistance base. As time went on it seemed as though the lists grew longer and longer as more people thoughts of something telling him to add it to the list in passing.

“Oh kriff these people are all idiots.” Finn cried out as he watched the horror unfold on the screen. He looked down at Poe who watching him with a proud look on his face. “I can’t believe that you like this.” He muttered down at him.

Poe shrugged. “You’re the one who picked it.” He said with a wink

He shook his head in frustration. “You could have told me it was like this.” He muttered. “Jess make sure he pays for this tomorrow at combat training.” He yelled out.

He saw an arm raise up, silhouetted against the projection. Jessika Pava, one of the many pilots who was sitting on the floor of Finn and Poe’s room called out sharply, “Gladly” before she muttered something about passing snacks her way.

Finn looked down at Poe who was grinning like an idiot at him. He bent down and gave him a swift kiss before returning his attention to the program which he was unknowingly becoming invested in.

He hadn’t even expected to be alive after what had happened on Starkiller base. When he had opened his eyes to find himself on the Resistance base on D’Qar he had thought for a moment that he was surely dead and this was some afterlife. Then the pain kicked in bringing him back to reality. Rey had been gone a week, and he found himself friendless in an unknown part of the galaxy. Thought his lack of friends on base only managed to last a few hours.

Within waking Poe and BB-8 were at his bedside, telling him about everything that he had missed in those weeks while he was sleeping. Poe was his guide showing him around the base, checking on him in every constant moment to make sure that he was okay. He wasn’t of course, his body was screaming in pain and his muscles were sore from not being used.

The pair spent so much time together it became expected by those around the base that they would simply just be together. Somehow after all that time together, those long nights of conversations about what would happen next, they were slowing falling for one another.

Finn was highly oblivious to the way that Poe looked at him, to how he would brush against his hand, how he would make sure that everything about Finn’s transition into the world wet smoothly. It wasn’t until he overheard the conversations of the other pilots, that he began to put it together. Finn had never been in a relationship before with someone, it had never even been something which he had considered or had the urge to do.

Five weeks after waking, Poe and Finn found themselves locked down in mess hall B while ground troops inspected a possible bomb threat. Nearly all alone they had sat for nearly two hours on com silence both of them getting twitchier and twitchier as time went on. Finn had never considered his mortality until that moment, he knew would die one day he had been told that for as long as he could remember. However, it had never occurred to him that he would care about the people he was leaving behind and their memories of him.

Finally having enough, he had climbed over the tables which were slowly turning into beds and grabbed Poe by the arm, looking firmly down in his eyes and kissing him just like people had in all those romance stories which Jessika and Snap had been giving him to read. “Am I wrong or is there something here?” Finn had muttered as he looked down at a stunned pilot whose major concern during the lock down had been his lack of helping with the search.

Poe had smiled his eyes shining. “Oh there is definitely something here.” He had replied before kissing Finn again.

That had been eight months ago, their relationship hadn’t really slowed down as they continued helping the Resistance in any way that they could.

A loud knock on the door made them all moan. “Go away.” Snap yelled loudly as he looked around for something to throw at the door in anger.

The knocking continued more urgently. Finn reached over and pushed the button on the side of the wall which opened the door to their quarters. The light from the hallway washed out the holo-vid as the nervous looking young girl stood wringing her hands with wide eyes as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “An unknown ship has been spotted approaching the atmosphere the General would like you to intercept it.”

The pilots sprung to their feet, some of them pulling the tops of the flight suits which they never took off back on while others set off at a run making the General’s messenger more skittish. Poe pushed himself off Finn’s chest giving him a kiss. Their foreheads remained on one another as they breathed in the scent of the other man which was remarkably similar to their own. “Good luck.” Finn whispered as he had so many times when Poe went off on a mission.

“See you soon.” Poe said as he pulled away, BB-8 rolling after him as the droid beeped its goodbye to Finn.

Finn had considered taking up pilots training but the simulators had made him skittish and the cockpits were cramped. He had instead taken up working on communications in the command room and while he hadn’t been specifically called to duty he knew that he wouldn’t be a hassle. He walked briskly down the corridors, past other men and women some who had looks on their faces which told him that they knew what was happening while others were oblivious as they strolled. On the base there was always somebody running somewhere urgently, unless the alarms were blaring the running never seemed to cause any panic.

The door whooshed opened, and few people looked up as he took up his post at the station monitoring broadcasts out to other members of the Resistance but most people just ignored him as they crowded around the screens talking loudly with the members of the X-wing squadrons in tense voices.

“Please state your ETA on visual confirmation?” One of the young communications officers asked, eyes darting around the room.

It was Jessika who answered back. “This is Blue Three, not so sure on visual confirmation.” She said casually. “The fog is thick with the latest incoming storm, were either going to get comms first or run right into them.” She replied back.

Finn felt his hands tense as his eyes darted over to General Organa who was standing with her arms firmly crossed over her chest. “Anything is better than Hoth.” Finn heard her mutter under her breath. “Thank you Blue Three.” She added over the communications.

Worry was cast over Leia’s face as she looked at the small readout which marked the positions of their ships in the sky against that of the unidentified ship. Finn doubted that it was the First Order, it seemed too bold for them to send in one ship for an attack, but the Resistance could possibly have other enemies as well.

“Unidentified ship, please identify yourself.” Finn jumped at the sound of Poe’s voice coming through to the control room.

There was silence and then a screeching sound, following by crackling. “AH… glun….sno… kri-” A voice distorted rang through the control room, answering no questions at all as silence fell about the room.

“This is Black Leader we have weapons locked, please respond or we will fire.” Poe’s voice rang out in an authoritative tone which made Finn stifle a proud smile.

The screeching and static came over the line “hit… damn…. thing.” Called out a distorted voice.  There was another moment of tense silence before they heard a frantic voice on the line. “This is the Millennium Falcon, please do not fire!” Rey called out in a high pitched tone as the unmistakable sounds of Chewbacca’s roars could be heard in the background.

“Rey?” Leia’s voice cracked as she lifting her head, optimism shining on her face.

“We’re… com… prob...” Rey replied before the line went dead again.

Leia looked around before picking up her own communicator and yelling into it, hopeful of both Rey’s and her brothers return. “Someone get a visual on them.” She clutched as the sides of the table unblinking as she looked at the little figures of the planes moving in the air towards the ship. One was almost on top of it from the data, but there was still nothing.

“Confirmed, it is the Millennium Falcon, bringing them in for landing.” Poe replied an excited smile audible in the relieved tone of his voice.

The tension fell from her body as Leia took a step back and turned over looking both startled and not at all surprised that Finn was sitting at his station. She tilted her head indicating that he should come with her as they made their way through the tunnels towards the airstrip.

She was smiling. “Are you going to go back home now that your brother is found.” Finn asked her as they made their way through the tunnels.

Leia looked at him as if he was mad. “My home planet was destroyed over thirty years ago by the death star.”  She stated, forgetting that he didn’t exactly have the common knowledge that most people in the galaxy did.

“Alderaan?” He repeated in surprised. “I didn’t know that you were from there.”

She shook her head and continued on walking reminding herself that there was many things Finn did not know and it was not always his fault for his lack of knowledge of the universe. “I was adopted by the late Senator of Alderaan. I always considered it to be my home until it was blown up because I wouldn’t give away the location of the rebel base…. I still didn’t even after it.”

He hung his head as he whispered, “I was told it was a rebel base.”

She scoffed. “I have no doubt that you were told many lies about what actually happened back then.” She said as they stepped out into the stormy evening to see the large outline of the battered freighter landing down as several other X-wings were pulling back into the hangers. Leia approached slowly as Finn quickly ignored her to run towards the black X-wing that was Finn’s.

His boyfriend met him halfway and they stood together shoulder to shoulder as they watched the gang plank of the Millennium Falcon slowly lower down. R2-D2 came down first, beeping all the way as if insulted by something which had happened in their descent to D’Qar. Finn doubted that the droid could be to blame for the misunderstood landing, the storms were known to mess up with communications, but it didn’t seem to have the same mind-set.

Next to come was Chewbacca almost forlorn as his bent down to not hit his head, he walked toward Leia giving her a large hug as he vocalized a few words with some growls which Finn still did not understand.

He heard Poe inhale sharply and he looked as Luke Skywalker descended. He had heard tales of what the Jedi had once been while he as in the First Order, Poe had told him even more tales about his mother’s adventures with Luke Skywalker but in all his years this was the first time he had seen a proper Jedi. At least he looked like the images of the old Jedi which Finn had seen more romanticized now, the simple robes of natural earthen colors, the long hooded cloak the silver hilt of a Lightsaber hanging from his hip.

Luke said nothing to either men as he walked up and approached his sister. “I’m sorry.” He said as he looked at her, the wind trailing at his long hair as his mechanical hand glistening in the starlight.

“That’s alright.” Leia replied, “You’re here now.” She added, the pair continued on in soft conversation as both Finn and Poe turned their attention to the woman walking towards them.

Rey was wearing the same clothes which she had left the Resistance base in, she saw them both and let out a soft squeal of excitement. They had both been communicating with her at least once a week since she had gone but to see her in person with the silver hilt of a Lightsaber of her hip as well made their hearts race as she ran toward them.

Then three hugged unable to saying anything through their excitement. Finally, they all pulled back grasping for air as Finn gestured at her Lightsaber. “You have one of your own now.”

Rey stood back beaming as she unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and held it out the blue blade flashed before her face as she tried to contain her giddiness as she then pressed her thumb to the side and another blue blade emerged from the other end of the hilt.

Rey took a breath, holding out her double ended Lightsaber as she looked at them, for a moment appearing half intimidating as their awe was audible before she deactivated her Lightsaber and placed it back on her belt.  Rey looked at them and smiled, her face clearly showing her excitement as both Poe and Finn wrapped their arms around her as the three of them walked back into the base together, BB-8 chirping happily at their heels.

**

Poe had never seen the base seem so electric, it surprised him that such as simple thing such as people returning could have such an impact on morale. People were walking with their heads held high telling stories of how they had seen either Rey of Luke training with their Lightsaber. Just the mere proof that there did exist someone in the galaxy who was able to use such a legendary weapon seemed to be making them all dream like children once more.

He had been surprised that Rey had a double edged Lightsaber, if not only for the fact that he did not know such things were possible. Finn had told him that it made sense, her weapon of choice was a quarter staff it seemed the most akin and perhaps it was more natural for her to use other than a traditional sword like model.

On second thought he knew it was certainly possible for her to use such a weapon, he assumed there had once been many different variations and combinations of blades which the Jedi of old had once used. His mind dwindled on the blade of Kylo Ren for a moment, before he pushed the image of out his head. It was a name not often spoken on this base for many reasons.

He walked through the dark corridors of the base not paying attention to where he was really going other than the movement of the droid at his feet. BB-8 was happily chirping along to anyone who would listening it would seem, greeting them all with a warm hello. The amount of personality that had been programed into the droid never ceased to amaze Poe. It often seemed more like a favorite pet rather than a useful droid. As a child he had never understood why families were so attached to their droids, now the reason seemed perfectly clear as he saw the likes of R2-D2 moving along with his old master. Though R2-D2 was certainly not a quick to make friends as BB was.

His musing on droids lead him around a corner and right into the blue and white astromech himself.

“Kriff.” Poe muttered under his breath as his shins stung out as he looked up into the half chuckling face of Luke Skywalker. It was still strange for him to see the man whom he had heard so much about in his childhood, he looked both like the mental image which he had and nothing like it at the same time. It was strange to look at this beard man with his metal hand and imagine him once facing off against Darth Vader and the Emperor, of taking the whole system down only for it to rise again.

Luke looked at him and smiled, seeing in him the same determination that his mother Shara once had. As the man in front of him gave a small salute of respect though his face was grinning. It was poetic how the families which had fought around the first time were still in the fight. The men and women whom he had known during the Rebellion, now it was their children fighting in the Resistance. A continual circle of battles, of betrayals and losses. History was repeating its self and those who had survived long enough to see what would happen were trying to stop the outcome.

“At ease Dameron.” Luke said the smile on his face fading as he looked at Poe his eyes almost sad. He had that look often, as if the hope had gone from him. He had fought this battle against the Dark Side before, only to have his own nephew go and undo all the work that he did. Poe would feel the exhaustion and the lack of interest to do it all again to.

“I was wondering sir…” He paused not knowing how to address him. He almost had to laugh at himself understand that he was acting very much like Finn at the moment who was just now getting the hang of formal and informal titles. “Luke,” he corrected himself seeing the older man nod in acceptance. “If there were any missions, that you needed done?”

Luke tilted his head looking at him fondly. “I remember the missions in between the battles.” He said as he began to walk along the corridor, Poe falling in step with him as they made their way through the many other people of the base who were moving bout on their business, cutting between them as they dashed off, late to their shift. “A lot of memories from those days.” He said not elaborating any more.

“Well I was just wondering sir… Luke.” Poe began, he didn’t know why he always got flustered around Luke and not his sister. Perhaps it was the allure of the man who in his lifetime had achieved a mythical status. “We haven’t had any missions yet and I was just… volunteering myself in case anything comes up.”

Luke turned as they arrived at the command center and looked at him curiously. “I just assumed that after you were captured and tortured on your last mission-”

“Some pretty good things came out of that mission.” Poe interrupted him. “Rey… Finn.” He added with a smile knowing that if he never was captured he would have never met Finn and the world would be a lot duller for him.

Luke gave him a perceptive glance as he walked toward his sister. “I’ll keep it in mind.” He muttered.

“Keep what in mind.” Leia said as she turned to look at both men and their two droids which were happily talking with one another.

“Poe is volunteering himself and Finn for the next mission.”

Leia inhaled. “Oh to be young and careless again.” She said wistfully winking at her brother. “And to be alone of a strange planet away from the eyes of commanding officers.” She added wittily with a wink to Poe.

“Hey, those weren’t my motivations.” Luke said strongly.

She shrugged. “Admit it. in those years before we knew we were realties there was some interest. I remember the look of your face on Hoth.” Luke raised his good hand to his face embarrassed. “Thank you for volunteering, I’ll keep you both in mind.” Leia added.

Poe turned to go as he watched the siblings face fall from their childishness to a more somber tone.

“Did you tell her.”  He overheard Leia muttered gruffly.

“No.” Luke breathed. Leia reached up, her face scrunched in frustration and smacked the back of her brother’s head firmly.

“Family of idiots.” Leia replied loudly, and Poe saw her cross her arms once more before he left the room.

**

Rey walked along the familiar path, not closing her eyes but closing off her mind to the world as she tried to practice what Luke had been teaching her. It was becoming easier to connect with the force, to feel it around her and sense the universe which she was just beginning to become a part of. Rey walked along the path, slowly opening her mind to notice her surroundings. A small stream ran parallel to the path the water moving rapidly over the rocks in a constant torrent. There were creatures stirring in the under growth and birds chirping high up in the air. The world here was as it should be, or at least it seemed that way.

Rey paused, noticing the bright sunny path ahead of her and the darkness which seemed to be hanging only over her. She glanced upwards half expecting there to be some sort of ship hanging in the air or a large creature ready to pounce at her. She saw only large green leaves.

Confused, she raised her hand upwards to touch one of the waxy leaves convinced something would be afoul as she tilted her head looking for a trap. But there was nothing. It was just… shade. _Shade_ , she thought to herself in a condescending manner as she let go of the leaf, allowing it to snap back to its branch, her own stupidity dawning on her. The last time she had been on the Resistance base at D’Qar these trees had been barren of leaves.

She lowered herself to the ground laughing as she realized how unfamiliar she was with such basic things in the world. Having live her whole life in a desert she had no experience with trees which lost and gained their leaves back on an annual basis. She looked around wishing that no one would come and find her in a such a position or else they would assume she had gone mad. Rey leaned back down into the earth, her body flat and stretched out against the rocky surface as she felt the earth supporting her once again as she looked upwards staring at the darkening sky and the green leaves being blow in the warning winds which came before a storm.

She closed her eyes, and like it was so often now, she did not see darkness but rather a world which was possibly less than a dream.

Rey was walking along a dusty path, looking at the crumbled pieces of stone which covered the once paved surface. Underneath the white stones, covered with a language she could not read there was small gears, parts, equipment visible. The scavenger in her wanted to reach down and collect them all, calculating the value in her head for such old and rare parts but something was pulling her forward, was telling her that there was something greater than money here.

She continued on, the strangest sense in her that she had been here before and yet the part of her that was conscious that was still back on D’Qar knew that she never had been. She was coming closer to the ruins of what had once been a fine stone building, the trees that had once likely surrounded the temple were now over grown, twisting into a forgotten forest as roots leaped over cracked stone, and trees sprang from trees themselves.

This was a temple, Rey didn’t know why she was so certain of that fact, but she was. She could see a small opening into the interior of the temple and Rey followed the path, scrambling over roots and broken building blocks as she made her way towards the small crack through which there was only darkness. She peered in planning her way down through the rubble towards a circular marking on the floor from where there were additional tunnels she could see leading down to the other passageways below the surface of the temple which might not be as damaged.

With careful planning she began to climb down, but the hands which Rey placed out in front of her to steady her balance were not her own. For a moment uneasiness washed over her as she felt panic before remembering Luke telling her that having such visions was possible. Rey tilted her head wondering who she was, if this was a memory or a premonition but there were no reflective surfaces to look into and she the face of her actions.  She looked down at the pale hands and body of a young child no older than five dressed is now torn and dirty grey clothes, she knew without a doubt that it was not her own memory but she did not know whose it was.

She made her way down to the floor, looking up at the monumental ceilings above and the many levels above which had been torn apart and destroyed to make the emblem now the center of attention. It was dusty and covered with thousands of years’ worth of debris and animal droppings but there was something familiar about the rounded shape. It bore its similarities to the signal of the Resistance with its center point like a rising star. She had seen it once, in one of the texts which Luke had shown her on a data pad, it was the old symbol of the Jedi.

There was a feeling of trespassing but also one of comfort as if Rey or the young girl was meant to be in this place. But she could hear voices outside of the temple calling after someone, but all the way down here it was hard to hear. She took a step forward, Rey no longer paying attention to whether her actions were her own or that of the young girl anymore. There were so many doorways towards so many different places and she wanted to see them all. She took another step forward listing to a lizard give out a hiss but leave her alone as she began to walk towards one of dark passageways.

She didn’t know what she would find by Rey was intrigued not wanting to stop. She felt a hand on her shoulder and stopped, holding her breath as she determined whether or not the interruption came from her vision or from something else.

Rey turned around in the Jedi Temple looking at the hooded figure who was bending down to be at eye level at the little girl. All she could see were bright blue eye, and striped white and blue lekku like that of a Twi’lek handing across the front of robes as the figure lowered their gloved hand.

_“It’s all right. I won’t hurt you.”_ Came the breathless voice of a woman. She lowered her hood and Rey looked into the orange face of the woman who was looking at this little girl with pure amazement.

“ _I don’t know you.”_ Came the high pitched voice a young child who was not scared by this person before.

The face of the woman seemed hurt as she reached out with her hands again her eyes softening as the white marks on her head wrinkling as she pondered. “ _You feel it don’t you. It brought you here.”_ She said with tears in her eyes as she shakily spoke.  She reached out and took her hand grasping onto it gently as if the girls hands were made of glass. _“The Force, you can feel it.”_ She said with a wide smile forming across her face as she closed her eyes and Rey could see the hilt of something silver each of the woman’s hip.

The Jedi before her opened her eyes again, taking a moment to laugh to herself. _“You look like your mother.”_ There was sadness in her voice but also a fragment of relief.

The girl took a step backward, turning to run away. _“Wait…. Leia!”_ She was scrambling up the debris to the opening which she had come through. Rey could sense her fear, she had never told the Jedi her name, the girl didn’t understand how she could know it without her telling her. _“Leia please.”_ She called out.

Young Leia stumbled cutting the palm of her hand the blood smearing the stone as she continued upwards. Rey could feel something stabbing at her side and she tried to push away the pain as she focused on Leia’s memory.

A male voice called out familiarly “BB-8.”

Rey opened her eyes to look at the droid which was bumping into her side with an annoyed glance.  The droid gave a series of cooing beeps. “Really, you thought I was dead?” She said mockingly as she propped herself up on her elbows to look at the droid more easily. It beeped again conveying it pleasure that she was still alive, Rey rolled her eyes as Finn came running into view.

“Sorry, he got away from me.” He said as he offered her a hand to help her stand up.

Rey ignored his hand as she made her way to standing. “I really would think that you have that droid under control by now, it’s practically your child and all.”

Finn shrugged apologetically running a hand through his hair which had grown out since Rey had left the Resistance base. “I’m still getting the hang of binary, and when he goes all fast it’s hard for me to understand.”

BB- 8 let out a set of mocking beeps as its head moved from side to side. Rey sighed as she began to walk away from the stream and back to base. “Where are you going?” Finn asked as he chased after her. She turned and gave him a coy smile. “What did you see?”

She stopped her mouth hanging open as she turned to look at him. “How’d you know I saw something?”

“Isn’t that what you do now?” He motioned with his hands up in the air wiggling his fingers. “See things, read minds, move objects, change the weather.”

She laughed at his perception. “Still haven’t figured out how the force works?” She pestered now becoming annoyed at how he was following her around. They were friends and all but, sometimes it was a bit too much. They were both learning how the universe worked, and they didn’t always make the best teachers for one another. She continued on saying nothing to him as they walked back onto base making their way past pilots moving to their ships for daily runs and droids moving about on repairs.

A smooth expression fell across his face as he jogged to catch up with her again. “So you did see something.” He replied in a more serious tone. “Was it Kylo Ren, Snoke, some other bad guy we don’t know about yet?”

“No.” She shook her head taking a step closer to him so no one could hear them. “It was _Leia,_ when she was a little kid.”  Finn’s eyes widened, silently asking her to continue on. “She ran into some weird looking Jedi in a temple.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Rey looked at him, making a teasing face that a child would be fond of. “I’m going to go ask her about it.” She said cockily as she made her way towards the interior sections of the base.

Rey walked firmly down the corridors, her face placid yet determined as she pushed past people, Finn closely following behind her as she headed first to the control room where the General was most often found.

Luke and Leia were standing off in a corner, arguing in hushed voices as Leia spoke in condescending tones to her brother.

"He once told me that he was glad they never grew up together." Rey whispered into his ear with a knowing glance. Finn furrowed his brows at her. "Because she would have likely beaten him to a pulp." she chirped as she walked towards the siblings. Both of them straightened up, their heads turning as Rey and Finn entered into the room.

“General.” Finn said as he gave a small salute.

She looked at Rey with a warm face. “What is it?” She asked as if able to feel what Rey was going to tell her.

“I saw something though the Force.” Rey began as she looked between both Luke and Leia.

Luke sighed. “I told you Rey you can’t always trust what you see, it doesn’t necessarily show you what will happen.”

Rey shook her head at him quickly. “It wasn’t the future; it was the past. Your past.” She said as she looked at Leia pointedly.

The Generals chest rose and fell as she looked at Rey, believing every word that she said. “This isn’t the place for a conversation like that.” She said moving towards the door which lead back out into the hallways both Luke and Rey following her while Finn stood silent for a moment. “Come along Finn.” She added off handily and he move quickly to catch up with them.

In planning the base of D’Qar the Resistance had planned for having to spend a long time on the planet. Due to that they had not only chosen a planet which was on the outer reaches of the galaxy but was also habitable to life. There had been fields planted to grow crops for food supplies and small gardens built for recreation and mental sanity.

Leia led them out to one of the gardens, grassy paths winding through the raised beds made of stone which housed large and looming planets. It was a private area which Finn and Poe had often gone to when they were both alone and thy wanted somewhere quiet.

There were a few members of the medical staff sitting along the stones eating their lunches but they quickly moved out of the way as they saw the General enter the room. Leia turned and looked at Rey. “What did you see.”

Luke opened his mouth, but she stretched out a hand silencing her brother.

Rey nodded and told them in detail the vision which she had. “It was you right?” She asked as she concluded.

Leia nodded. “It was the first time my father let me go on an aid mission with him. I hadn’t ever been out to the outer rim before so naturally I wandered off. The woman who found me in the temple she was someone who assisted my father with the Rebellion.” She replied referencing her adopted father of Alderaan.

“And she was a Jedi Knight?” Rey asked remembering the lightsaber which she had seen the woman wearing.

Luke looked at her with interest, but Leia shook her head. “Not exactly.”

“But how did she know your name? How did know what your mother looked like?”

Leia said nothing as she moved to sit down on one of the stones, her face dark as she looked down at the ground in thought. She looked up at her brother. “You never met her did you?”

He shook his head. “I was told of her, but I never met her.”

“I did,” Leia replied, “Many a times as I grew up. But she never spoke of that day ever again, for both our protection I think.” She said to her brother. She turned to address Rey. “Her name was Ashoka Tano. She fought in the Clone Wars and helped the Rebellion against the Empire. When she was younger she had been a Padawan leaner, but she left the Jedi order before the massacre. Her master was Anakin Skywalker, our father.”

Rey felt her eyes widened in revelation. “So that’s how she knew who you were. She could feel it, recognize you without ever-”

Leia nodded. “Yes, I assume so, but again… She was wise enough to realize not know never to mention it again, at least not to me.”

Rey nodded and looked at Luke. “Why did I see it; I wasn’t trying to?”

The siblings exchanged a glance which neither Finn or Rey was able to make sense of it. “What planet was it on?” Luke asked her in a whisper.

“Dantooine.” She replied.

Luke remembered the history of the planet, that thousands of years ago in the time of the old republic Dantooine had once been a planet which Jedi had flocked to. There had been several Temples and battles fought over the far out planet.

He too wondered why Rey had seen such a thing but it seemed like a sign that was not worth missing. “You should go there.” Luke said as he remembered the conversation he had with Poe Dameron. “To Dantooine” He added at Rey. “Go to the temple and see what you find.”

“Alone? I don’t even know where Dantooine is.” Rey muttered embarrassed as there were so many planets and sectors that she was struggling to keep straight in her head.

Something lit up in Luke’s eyes. “Don’t worry you won’t be going alone.” He relied

**    

Three days later they stood on the tarmac, Finn and Poe silently murmuring to one another as Rey nervously ran her fingers across her lightsaber. They had been told that the three of them would go to Dantooine and nothing else. They had gone about their normal business doing their daily duties and spending their evenings talking about what they might find on the planet which would take nearly a week in hyperspace to get to.

Half an hour ago they had received communications that their ship was ready, having gone to their respective quarters and gathering their supplies which had been packed for days now.

“Follow me.” General Organa said as she moved past them and continued on walking at them. Jessika Pava one of the other X-wing pilots was moving alongside her, wearing a drab green jumpsuit with a pack over her shoulder. “Pava is coming with you.” Leia said offhandedly without adding any more information.

“Are we taking the Falcon?” Poe said, looking excited about the chance to fly the historic ship.

Leia shook her head as they rounded the corner. There was a large Corellian freighters, similar in shape to the Millennium Falcon but larger in size. The cockpit was located centrally a large glassed in room with a gunner position underneath. On top there was the outline of a small detachable shuttle craft, and behind Poe’s black X-wing was being positioned behind the freighter.

Poe’s eyes widened in horror as he ran forward, to see his beloved ship being pushed into the wide cargo hold. “Watch the sides.” He said placing his hands to his head as he nervously watching his ship just barely clearing the sides as they pushed it in, nose out so it would be ready to fly out at any moment.

Rey turned and looked at Leia, suddenly not quite sure if she was ready for the challenge of this ship, the needing of a third pilot suddenly making sense to her. “Why can’t we take the Falcon, surely we have false credentials for it?”

Leia smiled at her. “You can put a hat on a Rodian but it won’t turn them into a Nemoidian.” She added nothing as Rey turned to look at the other woman who was coming along with her.

“I’m Rey.” She said reaching out her hand.

“Jessika.” She said as she shook it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Rey blushed, she was so used to be no one that the idea of notoriety made her uncomfortable. “I’ve heard a bit about you too from Finn and Poe.” She added, in truth only hearing the woman’s name in passing but saying it none the less to make her feel better.

Jessika gave her a small nod and walked up the gangway of the ship adding nothing else as she continued on to inspect the inside of the ship. Rey turned to see that Luke had appeared behind to wish them off.  She walked towards her teacher, reading the uneasiness on his face.

“I’ll be fine.” Rey said with a smile in an attempt to reassure him.

He shook his head, finally understanding why Yoda had once been so mad at him when he had left Degobah. She was the hope that he once was, at least he was telling her to go rather than her running away. In his age after all that he had seen he knew it wasn’t worth it, but she was young and he knew that he couldn’t talk her out of adventure when she, just like him was just beginning to have the world opened to her.

“Be careful.” Luke whispered, wishing that he had more time to teach her, to make sure that she was ready but there were lessons which she would only learn on her own.

She nodded a childlike smile on her face. “Of course I will be.” She stepped forward and hugged him tightly with both hands tightly.

Rey could feel him resisting against him, but she continued any ways. He was one of her friends, he was more than that to her, he was a teacher who cared about her. It was something which she hadn’t had for much of her life. She didn’t care if he didn’t want to hug her, she was going to hug him tightly regardless.

“May the Force be with you.” Luke whispered as Rey released him.

Her lips pulled up in a corner. “And also with you.” Rey chirped as she made her way up the gang way of the carrier.

She looked up at the cavernous space of the cargo hold which was consumed with the span on the X-wing fighter. Beyond there were stairs leading to upper levels and doors leading to lower levels. With a week in hyperspace Rey assumed that they would have plenty of time to explore and get used to the ship in that time.

Jessika was making her way down the set of stairs, she looked up at Rey and smiled. “There are four crew quarters of varying size I already choose mine so you might want to snag the other big one before they do.”

She came to stand with Rey at the opening of cargo hold looking out at Finn and Poe who along with BB-8 at their feet were having a long goodbye with Snap. “Yeah no problem.” Rey muttered, she had slept on a stone floor for the better part of a year, having a real bunk was a luxury enough. She would have gladly shared with someone if need be.

“Hey space husbands.” Jessika shouted as she cupped her hands around her lips. Both Finn and Poe turned and looked at her. “Yeah, if you delay this any longer we are bringing Threepio along with us.”  Jessika giggled as they broke into a run towards the ship. She winked and Rey knew they would get along just fine.

Finn and Poe ran into the ship as Jessika punched the control panel against the wall to close the gang way and seal the airlock. The four set off running into the new ship readying to take their places as they set off from D’Qar on a new adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note. I image the ship that they are one to be a slightly newer, slightly bigger version of the Ghost from Rebels. Just like that ship the interior is very Serenity/Firefly-eque.

_Thirty-Five minutes after leaving D’Qar_

“Jessika Pava!” She popped her head around the corner and smiled brightly at Poe who was thundering down the corridor where the crew quarters were stationed.

Jessika turned her head to shoot a quick glance at Rey who was sitting at the long table in the kitchen area organizing the rations supply into categories of most edible to least. “Told you it was only a matter of time.” Jessika said with a wink as she moved to jump onto the table, scattering the careful piles which Rey had made. She sat with her legs crossed one over the other, dangling off the edge of the table awaiting him as Poe came into the room his face red with anger.

“You can’t have the largest room.” He said through gritted teeth.

Rey looked up with curiosity but said nothing as she watched the two pilots arguing. “Snooze you lose.” Jessika shrugged her shoulders.

“Jess, there are two of us and one of you. That room is clearly meant for the captain of the ship since it is the largest.” He placed his hands on his hips.

“We never decided that you were the captain of the ship or of the mission.” She said, her casualness making him more and more angry as she sat there unwilling to give up the room which she had chosen. “It’s only a week you both can manage in one of the other rooms.”

He placed his fingers on his forehead, fearing that these brief minutes in hyperspace would be an indication as to how the rest of the week was going to go. “All the rooms left in them have single beds Jess.” She raised her brows suggestively. She was going to make him admit that they were sleeping together aloud. “You know that we have been sharing quarters for about six months now, and you have been in those quarters roughly five times a week, you know what kind of bed is in there.”

“Fine.” Jess replied as she jumped off the table shaking it once more. “I’ll move my stuff.” She hurried down the short corridor.

The upper level of the ship was the smallest to account for the two level high cargo hold. It contained only the cockpit, crew quarters and a kitchen area. Several staircases and ladder led down to the main level with the cargo hold, medbay, a few storage rooms and the gangway off of the ship. The lower level contained the gunnery position as the engine rooms as well as some other technical panels.

Poe muttered his thanks as he looked at Rey who was biting her lip. “I would have switched with you both.” She whispered as Jess left the room.

Poe waved at her, signaling that it was a nice gesture but he wasn’t going to ask that of her. “She’s too young.” He muttered as he sat down at the table across from her, looking at what she was doing with a heavy heart.

“I’m young too.” Rey replied.

He shook his head as he indicated to the rations which she was sorting through. “But she didn’t have the kind of life that you did. I was born long enough ago that I still remember the Empire, not when it actually existed but the sense of it. The way people acted… like they were running out of time, just doing all they could to survive. Jessika doesn’t…her life wasn’t… she doesn’t know how to fend for herself. Somehow I feel that making her sleep in a small narrow space for a week might make her understand that… a bit.” He added with a laugh.

Rey nodded but said nothing else as she grabbed a handful of rations standing up and placing them back in the metal storage lockers in the kitchen. She could hear Jessika down in the quarters corridor making a lot of noise as she moved her few belongings across the hallway.

“You know you don’t have to do that, we brought a lot of fresh food from the base.” Poe said as he watched her put the rations away.

“I know.” Rey said as she looked at her feet. “It’s just habit.” She added in a small whisper as she turned in the kitchen looking around. A week in hyperspace just the four of them and one droid she didn’t know exactly how they would spend all that time.

The first night went by quickly. They sat around the long table in the kitchen, intended for a crew far larger than them, eating the dinner which Poe had made for them. They discussed things which needed to occur in this week in hyperspace, primarily research on the planet they were heading too, but also seeing if any nearby planets had a heavy First Order presence.

After dinner they watched an episode of a popular holo-drama, _Buried Bellow_ , much to Poe’s dissatisfaction as he muttered something about going through their clothes. It was a gritty drama about a detective who worked in the lower levels of Coruscant. They sat engaged in the drama of corruption and outlandish situations before sleep began to take a hold.

It had been midday when they left D’Qar and they were doing their best to keep to Galactic standard time. Declaring it time for sleep, Poe and Finn made their way to their quarters, while Rey sauntered up to the cockpit having yet seen what it looked like.

Inside there was two chairs sitting side by side, a place for both the pilot and co-pilot sharing one bank of controls, but on the left hand side there was a smaller bank of controls which were primarily navigation based as well as a large screen to make video calls on. It was all familiar parts in a design she had not seen in a ship before, the controls were all located in the back of the spacious cockpit, and in front there was a large window with an area large enough to sit down in front of it and watch the stars passing by.

The view of blue and white whirling hyperspace outside the window was a sight she both relished to see yet never assumed she would get used to seeing. Rey sat in the pilot’s chair looking at the controls and the read out screens. This ship was not as old as the Millennium Falcon, but it wasn’t brand new either. Still, it had more readout screen which were showing just how much progress which they had made so far in their journey.

She heard the door open behind her and looked at Jessika who was standing in the doorway, the top of her jumpsuit unzipped and tied around her waist so that she was just in a white tank top. Rey turned back to the console, feeling her face flush for some unknown reason.

Jess shut the door to the cockpit behind her as she let out a groan of annoyance.  "Are they having loud sex?" Rey asked without looking up from the console.

"No just really loud cuddling I think." The other woman said as she sat down at the navigational terminal. "Somehow that is even worse."

Rey giggled. "Just out of curiosity when did they start being… together?"

A small frown formed on her face. "I thought they told you?"

"They did, eventually." Rey muttered "I think they just wanted to be sure that it was... real."

Jessika leaned back in her chair as she remembered. “Finn woke up about a week you left. They started hanging out pretty much immediately. It was kind of obvious to the rest of us that they liked one another, but they needed some pushing together." She paused to see Rey looking at her skeptically. "No really." She added, "like they should be naming their first adopted child Blue Squadron Dameron after what we did to get them in the same room under pressure. We could retire from the Resistance and open a _very_ reputable matchmaking service."

Rey laughed as she spun the pilots chair around to look at her. “It’s nice that you cared enough to do all that for them.”

Jessika nodded in return. Rey looked at how her black hair was falling down over her pale shoulders, they were thin but well defined with muscle and lightly marked with patches of scars. Rey wanted to ask her about the scars, she wanted to know how you got them. “I’m surprised that you would ask about them, with you being a Jedi and all?”

She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Aren’t Jedi supposed to not have relationships, I remember that from all the stories.”

Rey found her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to small as she looked in Jessika’s large eyes. “I don’t know.” She replied honestly. There had been so many stories about what Jedi had been like that even Luke didn’t have a very clear idea of how the order used to work. “I never really heard many facts about Jedi growing up.”

“Well didn’t you ask Luke if he had been in any relationships?” Rey shook her head, nothing of the sort had ever been mentioned about that in her training. Just the thought of asking him the personal details of his love life, felt bizarre to her. “That why I assumed his sister choose to be a General and get married rather than… though the thought of General Organa with a lightsaber is rather terrifying.”

Rey shuddered as she leaned back in her chair making a mental note that it was something that she would have to ask about in her future conversations with her teacher.

“But there aren’t any _real_ Jedi’s left now.” Jessika continued. “I mean…. It’s not like it used to be, there are no official academies or anything now. I guess you he could redefine the rules of being a Jedi and there wouldn’t really be any elders to argue with him.”

“Yeah, I suppose” Rey replied as she stood looking down at Jessika wondering why she was suddenly feeling so confined in the large space. She needed to clear her mind, she determined as she stood up.

“Are you alright?” Jessika asked her face twisting with worry.

“I’m tiered; I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rey said as she opened the door and walked the short way to the door of her quarters. She punched in the code and sat on the bed, hearing the distant voices of Poe and Finn in the room next door. She laid down on the bed, closing her eyes tuning out their voices, trying to see nothing in front of her, but all she could see was Jessika’s face.

_Twenty-Two hours after leaving D’Qar_

It had been Finn who had realized as they were going through the falsified papers and identifications that they had been given before leaving that the ship did not have a proper call name. Now they were sitting on the floor under Poe’s X-wing passing a bottle of gin between them, because as they had mentioned they weren’t going anywhere for six days and it didn’t matter if they got intoxicated in the middle of the day.

"The Shara." Poe said with a large grin on his face.

"Noooope." Jessika replied loudly.

"Why not? Nobody is looking for us” Poe replied with a hurt expression on his face.

“Because by naming a ship after your mother they won't have to. It becomes a big signal of here is Poe Dameron.”

“We’re going to be using fake names when we land on Dantooine.” He added in rebuttal.

Finn reached out and placed a hand on Poe’s shoulder. “Just let it go for now. One day you can get a ship and name it after her.”

Jessika rolled her eyes and Rey reached across and grabbed the bottle. She had spent all that time with Luke trying to clear her mind and listen to the Force, and now it seemed as if the presence of one person could just undo all that focus.

She was intrigued as to why Jessika of all people, would do that to her. Was this what it felt like to like someone as more than just a friend? She barely knew the woman at all, and yet in her presence she was compelled to be something else. Jessika was more vibrant than the world around her, and Rey wanted to shine just as bright as that world. Jess would look at her and she felt her breath catching in her throat as she smiled back, wishing that a smile could convey the words that she could not find in her own vocabulary. 

There had been people of Jakku, older men and young scavengers who had tried to steal a drunken kiss, who had been interested in her. Being far to young she had pushed them all away. She wondered now with a tinge of guilt if this had this been the way they had felt when they looked at her, or were they just trying to satisfy a desire.

“Well what about The Dauntless”” Finn suggested. “Sounds menacing and all.”

“No.” Poe said as he shook his head. “Not for a freighter.”

Rey blew out her cheeks as she looked up at the ceiling. “The Falling Star?” She suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Not half bad.” Jessika whispered. Rey snapped her head to see the other woman smiling at her and she got the same dizzying feelings once more. “The Siren? That sounds pretty…. I don’t know…. Haulers dreaming of being smugglers and the like?”

Finn snorted “And is that our cover then? The only cargo we have is an X-Wing.”

She shrugged. “We could make a lot of money off that.”

Poe glared at her. “NO you are not selling my ship.” He said as he snatched the bottle from Rey’s hands and took another sip winching as it burned his throat. He looked at her with a menacing scowl before he broke out into giggles.

Jessika stuck her tongue back out at him. “The something storm?” Rey said trying to get her attention away from the fellow pilot.

Jess let out a snicker, “The Stormy Storm, oh that is terrible… but in a good way.” She nodded.

“The White Storm?” Rey suggested

“Why don’t we just call the kriffing thing the Storm Trooper and paint the rebel alliance symbol on the side?” Finn said as he bumped into Poe, leaning on his shoulders as he looked up at his boyfriend with starry eyes.

“Whosegoib paint it?” Poe spurred as he blinked into Finn’s face. “You?” He asked as he bopped him on the nose

“Me.” Finn said as he reached up and tangled his fingers into Poe’s dark hair. “And you.”

Poe let out a wild laugh. “Let’s get go now.”  He replied as he leaned back into his boyfriend their faces becoming closers and closer to one another as they continued to mutter incoherently as Poe pushed Finn down onto the floor of the hanger, maneuvering the best he could to get on top of him. Finn was reaching up trying to take off Poe’s shirt was he was reaching down and carefully kissing Finn’s neck which reaching his hands under his partner’s shirt.

“Come on.” Jessika said as she stood up quickly waving her arms out to balance herself as her head rushed with the sudden movement. “I don’t want to witness my superior officer having sex just yet.” Poe let go of Finn for a moment to give her a rude hand gesture behind his back.

Jessika offered Rey a hand up which she took. She reached across for the bottle. “Just leave it.” Jess muttered as she pulled Rey along the lower levels of the ships. There were mostly store rooms which sat empty, a few ladders up to the lower levels, the gunnery position.

Rey hadn’t drank much in her life. The sensations that were coursing through her body were strange.  Her mind was perfectly sharp; she sensed no difference between her drunken mind and her normal one, but her body was refusing to listen. It moved listlessly or not at all. Her mind struggled for minutes to make her hands do one thing as her whole body tingled. There were times when she felt as if she was simply looking down at someone else who was controlling her like a puppet.

Jess was pulling her through the empty corridors and passageways, and she wasn’t complaining as she wondered what her agenda could possibly be. But neither woman was really watching where they were going and the ship had been designed with uneven floors so that raiding it would be a challenge for those inexperienced with its layout.

Rey tripped, letting out a small gasp of fright as her foot caught on the raised doorway and she stumbled to the side of the corridor taking Jess with her. She slammed into the side of the wall, her back stinging in pain as she felt her body in vibrant discomfort before it went fuzzy again. Jess caught her balance, placing both of her hands on the other side of Rey’s face.

The women looked at one another, neither of them saying anything as they both went sort of cross eyed. Jessika leaned forward, seemingly sucking out all of the air in the ship and she leaned towards Rey.

Part of her was tempted to lean in as well, but she wasn’t sure if her mind was so clear any more, maybe that same static feeling had finally spread from her body to her brain. “I…can’t” Rey muttered as she tilted her head away from Jessika.

The pilot took a step back her face cast in dissatisfaction, “Yeah I thought as much.” She whispered as she quickly turned making her way to the other end of the corridor and climbing up the narrow ladder to the levels above.

Rey slid down pulling her knees into her chest. “Kriff.”

_Twenty-Nine hours after leaving D’Qar_

There was a screech over then ships intercom system and then, “Wake up you sleepy heads lets go and hunt the cattle, wake up you sleepy heads lets go and hunt the Bantha’s.” Poe sang loudly and obnoxiously over the communications systems.

Jessika pressed a button on the wall of her quarters. “The Bantha’s are lost.” She sung the reply of the familiar children’s song. “The sun is warm, I think I’ll sleep, till they come home.”  She angrily switched the button off and pulled the blanket over her head as she shut her eyes in the hopes that it would make her raging headache disappear.

It was silent for a moment until she heard the familiar crackle of the channel going live once more and Poe’s voice filled the air again. “Good evening crew of the Star Walker-”

“Were not calling it that.” Finn interjected in the background.

“Well noooo, but I had to say something.” Poe responded softly. “Outside we have the lovely view of blue and white hyperspace, and the weather is whatever we decide to set the controls to. We have a lot of hours until we arrive on Dantooine, should we spend that time reading about the planet? Yes. Will we? I doubt it.”

Finn, once again his came over the coms his voice tense. “There will be no fashion-”

“Switch off, I have a lightsaber and I will use it.” Cut in the disembodied voice of Rey from down the hall.

There was a gentle crackle one more as Finn spoke. “Dinner is ready when you are.” He said gently.

Jessika’s feet fell heavy upon the floor as she looked at her reflection in the small mirror on the other side of the room, her hair was messy and her eyes had dark circles around them. She felt worse than she looked, half of it was the hang over which was making every muscle in her body ache another was her memory of the night before.

She had been very, very, stupid to think that Rey would even be remotely interested in her. She was training to be a Jedi. On the rare off chance that Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi Order was not going to follow the same non-relationships rules as the one which had proceeded if for literally thousands of years had, the chances of Rey liking her back were slim to none. She had seen the relationships develop out of necessity and the fear back on the base, some succeeded, most fizzled out and died.

Jessika pulled on a pair of pants and a tank top, throwing her hair back into a messy ponytail before she opened the door to her room, poking her head out into the hallway to see if the coast was clear before she quickly made her way to the kitchen.

Poe and Finn were sickeningly and adorably moving about the kitchen placing fruit in bowls and setting the table and BB-8 moved around chirping and dancing about to the music which they had playing. She sat down at the long metal table placing her head in her hands as Poe set down a cup of caf.

“Turn off the music.” She said through gritted teeth. BB-8 drooped its head in turn, but did so anyways. “How are you not hungover?” She leered up at him.

Poe gave a small chuckle “I guess we didn’t drink that much after you left.” He replied. “What did you two get up to anyways?”

Jessika paled, and he raised his eyebrow. Finn slid over, half draping himself across the table as he asked her with wide eyes. “What happened? Come on… come on… Jess?”

“Jess?” Poe echoed

“Jess…. Tell us what happened.” They said in unison as she lowered her head, the metal cool against her forehead, maybe she would just stay here until she died rather than share her embarrassment.

She could feel their eyes on her back. “I tried to...” She mumbled hoping it would be enough to appease them.

“You tried to what now?” Poe snapped.

She raised her head but did not open her eyes as she told them, “I tried to kiss a Jedi.” She whispered as she rested her chin on the table.

“OOOOOOoooooooHHHHHHhhhhhh snap.” Finn called out exuberantly, the volume of his voice hurting his ears. “You did not? You did _not_! Tell me you did not?”

“I did okay.” She said firmly, immediately regretting telling them.

“Do you like Rey?” Poe replied inquisitorially.

“Do you like, _like_ her?”  Finn said as his head tilted to the side.

She frowned at them both. “Are we really acting like teenagers again?” she replied sarcastically.

“Hey some of us never got the teenager experience.” Finn replied defensively.

She said nothing as she grabbed a piece of fruit off the table as stood up. Walking away to try and find a place somewhere in the ship where they would not find her for a few hours at least.

Finn and Poe exchanged excited glances as she left, whispering how of course they could not mention this to Rey. In doing so they would lose any opportunity which they had to possible learn what Rey’s impression of Jessika was, so they could then find a way to set them up.

“Too bad we can’t stage a bomb threat.” Poe whispered to Finn who just smiled as Rey walked into the kitchen dressed in her usual knee length pants and a long sleeved tunic top. “Evening.” Poe said brightly watching as she eagerly reached across the table to pick up a piece of fruit and begin eating it.

“Hi?” Rey muttered blearily as she sat down looking at him, frowning as to why they were looking at her with such a large smile.

“How was your nap?” Poe asked like a pestering sibling.

“Fine.” She replied shaking her head.

He raised his eyebrow at her. Finn unable to see his boyfriends face but knowing that he was getting at let out a small hiss in an attempt to lure the older man in another direction. “So, _nothing_ interesting happened after you and Jessika left?”

She kept herself from blushing as she looked at him and shook her head a little to violently, afraid they would both be able to read her mind. “No. Nothing happed I just went to bed and woke up with a headache.” She reached back over the table grabbing a few more pieces of fruit and a small chunk of bread and placing them in her hands.

Finn saw her ready to leave, knowing that Poe had pushed her too far. “Where are you going?” He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, in the moment she wanted to run as far away from the ship as she could, but that wasn’t possible. “I’m going to use one of the empty rooms down below to run through some training exercises. Knock before you enter, or you might meet the business end of a lightsaber.” She added as she grumpily walked off.

Poe stood up from the table and walked over to Finn who was frowning as he put away the food which he had prepared for Dinner. “You shouldn’t have pushed her.” Finn said through gritted teeth.

“Why not?” He shrugged carelessly “Jessica and half the base pushed us both together.”

Finn shook his head. “She not used to feelings.” He replied defensively.

Poe rolled his eyes. “It’s not like she has been a Jedi her entire life.”

“Exactly.” Finn cut him off. “What if Luke Skywalker doesn’t want her being in a relationship with someone.”

“How much can it hurt?”

Finn placed his head in his hands as he learned against the latched metal cabinets. This was always the problem with Poe, the flippancy, the carelessness the reckless abandon with a large smile across his face the whole time like nothing was wrong. It was totally alright to crash a ship on some foreign planet and just find your way out of it somehow. Going in head first with no plan at all was always Poe’s favorite plan.

“What?” Poe spat at him, bored with waiting for a reply.

Finn shook his head. “You can’t think beyond the idea that it might be fun can’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Poe stammered.

“What if they fall in love and then they can’t be together.” Finn replied while gesturing wildly. “Rey is important. More important than either of us.”

Poe felt him mouth hang open as he looked at Finn who was so confident in his words “What about us, are we just expendable?”

“In the scheme of things yes.” Finn replied quickly.  Before realizing his mistake.

Poe, visibly hurt by his partner’s words took a step back. “I’m going to go work on the X-wing.” He said dully as he left the kitchen before Finn could offer any reply.

_Forty-two hours after leaving D’Qar_

The hours had passed by as the four humans on the ship did not talk to one another. They walked by one another in the corridors on rare occasion as they made their way to the kitchen or the cockpits for a check on their flight path. There sleep schedules all messed up from their extended mid-day naps they all found themselves awake a midnight after the turn of their first full day aboard the unnamed carrier.

Jessika sat down beneath the wing of the X-Wing blankets in hand, her head still hurting as she set up the large projector to face upwards toward the ceiling of the ship. From her Datapad she controlled the selection of shows and selected an early episode of _Uncharted Medicine_ , a holo-drama about a group of doctors stationed in a fictional far off outer rim planet and the problems they ran into. She leaned back looking up at the large screen before her as she watched the opening credits pass by.

Jessika heard footsteps, but she did not look as Poe made his way down the staircases to the bottom of the cargo hold. He sat down next to her, leaning back on his elbows as he looked up at the ceiling, watching the show silently along with her.

A few moments later there was the soft beeping of a droid as Rey and BB-8 came down to the hanger to sit alongside them and silently watch. Ten minutes into the program Finn came down, carrying with him a bowl of snacks and some blankets.

The four adults sat, watching the show unfold, none of them saying anything as they stared up above their frustrations and anger with one another dissipating as they engaged in the story, oohing and aweing together until by the end of the episode they were fully commenting on the show together. Yelling when the lead doctor made a mistake in diagnosing their Bothan patient causing the episode to end on a cliff hanger.

Another episode later their eyes were heavy with sleep as Poe and Finn leaned on one another watching from a distance as Rey and Jessika kept taking turns looking at one another when the other was not noticing. The men looked at one another, “Not tonight.” Poe whispered knowing that what to do with their friends budding interest would be a conversation to have at another time.

“Sorry about what I… I didn’t mean it.” Finn muttered gently into his ear so that the women who were adorably stealing glances of the other.

Poe pulled him in closer, letting Finn’s chest rest on his head. “But you were right.” He sighed, “And that’s what scares me. We are in the scheme of things… replaceable, and Rey isn’t. Your used to thinking like that, it was part of your life, but to me it’s a reality which I tell myself is unimaginable.”

Finn breathed deeply as he reached for Poe’s hand their fingers intertwining. “You’re not replaceable to me.” He said as he kissed the back of his hand.

Poe kissed the top of his head. “You’re not replaceable to me either.”  He added. They returned to watching in silence at the show above them. In the early hours of the morning, as they passed their third official day upon the ship, its occupants all fell asleep wrapped up in a large tangle of blankets as the show continued to play above their heads.


	3. Chapter Three

_Fifty Hours after leaving D’Qar_

The long scar which ran down the length of Finn’s back would never be gone, but it’s edges were beginning to blend in with the dark skin around it. It would remain raised and uneven for decades until one day it was just a pearlescent streak. Sometimes he let himself think about what it would it might look like when he was older, how he would ever explain what appeared to be such a life ending blow to anyone who asked. But such things were hard to dwell on as Poe dug his thumbs deeper into his skin. Finn could hear him as he laid face down on the examination table in the medbay, Poe rising to the tips of his toes to get enough leverage to slowly run his fingers along the outlines of his shoulder blades, pushing away the knots and the pain little by little.

Finn let out a soft grunt as his body dwelled on the edge between pain and pleasure.

“Too hard?” Poe asked as he stopped momentarily. He was worried about breaking Finn, but most days Finn felt rather invincible after everything which he had gone through in the past year.

“No its good.” He muttered into the table his words barely audible as Poe continued massaging him again. His fingers rode up and down along the bones of his shoulder blade, the tension mounting in a crescendo until his hands fell down his side of his back and all that pain seemed to expel his body and drift into the recirculated air.

“You’ve got more muscle now.” Poe replied. Finn could feel it as well, the toughness under his own skin even when he was relaxed. “That good.” He added.

Finn laughed, he tilted he head to the side so he could speak more easily. “You were telling me a story…” He mentioned in a leading tone.

“Oh right, so back when I was in flight school there was this kid that none of us really liked.”

Finn interjected. “There always is.”

“Hush.” Poe said as he reached up and turned Finn’s head back down into the table. “So this one way we convinced him that there was no early morning training and he slept in…..”

Poe’s voice trailed off as he continued to tell the story. The two of them laughing at the antics of a young cadet who managed to make it to training with half a flight suit on.

Rey was becoming immune to their laughter, as she walked by the medical bay, watching the two men who were entirely comfortable in one another’s presence. She felt a small pang of envy which she tried to quickly pushed aside before she examined the emotion more deeply.

She wanted… she wanted…. She wanted someone like that in her life. A friend, a companion, someone who she could laugh with and have no boundaries with. She didn’t have to necessarily love that person. The idea of loving someone felt, unknown but she wanted someone who made her feel like she wasn’t alone even though there was so much life all around her.

_Seventy-Eight hours after leaving D’Qar_

They bent down, hands touching toes as the gently music played in the background half of them not paying attention to the sounds but rather the dull pain that was coursing through their bodies as they followed Rey along with her exercises.

The early morning fitness calls had been at the instance of Poe, who as the eldest member of the crew and the highest ranking was taking the time to do his best impressions of officers who outranked him. Normally Poe would lead them through a series of hand to hand combat exercises, punches and kicks into the air. But this morning they had awoke to find that another member of the crew had something else in mind.

Jessika blew out a strong puff of air as she tried to spread the long tendrils of her dark hair which had fallen into her face as she copied the positions which Rey was doing ahead of them. She made a small face as she continued to bend down, placing her hands on the floor the back of her legs itching with tension as she tried to calm her mind, but wondered instead how anyone ever managed to do so.

Muscles which were rarely used strained as they tried to silently outdo one another with just how far they could reach or twist. There was a strange calm as they all tried to achieve a level of competitive serenity comparable to that of Rey’s. And yet her three students all knew to themselves that they were failing. There was an audible sigh of relief as they came to standing, and a small groan of exhaustion as they watched what came next.

Rey’s hands reached up gracefully over her head stretching her whole body upwards as she balanced on one leg, her right foot curled around the back of her left calf. Her whole body was still, a perfect example of what the three others behind her were supposed to doing, but rather failing to do. Jess and Poe had both managed to stand on one foot, though Poe could not wrap it around his leg like Rey was doing in example.

“It’s not fair your using the Force to keep your balance.” Finn said as he struggled to even stay on one foot let alone keep his hands doing anything other than waving around.

“That’s not how it works.” Rey said in a whisper, though she herself as not so sure if that was true. She placed her foot down and they followed her down into a seated position, crossing their legs on top of one another and twisting their body to one side.

Finn was visibly struggling, Poe had a smile on his face both as if he enjoyed the actions which they were doing as well as seeing his boyfriend be changed by it. Jessika was quite, moving along with what Rey was instructing them to do with a silent and pensive face.

“How does this help with being a Jedi again?” Finn asked as they changed the direction of their feet and turned the other way. Rey said nothing as she had them placed a leg out in front of them and try and touch their toes. “Seriously this is not helping me wield a lightsaber.” Finn added in retort as his hand waved in the air as he reached for his toes.

Poe snickered, he hadn’t personally seen Finn use a lightsaber but he had heard enough about what had happened both times that he did. It seemed as perhaps the weapon was not as mythically difficult to handle as it was whispered to be so. You could still accidently chop your arm off, but anyone could turn a lightsaber on, not just Jedi.

“It gets you in tuned to your body.” Rey said in a murmur. “At least that’s what Luke said.”

Finn gave a small snicker. To him Luke Skywalker had always been just a personification of the ultimate enemy. To both Jess and Poe he was something else, a hero and a legend who they would listen to about the smallest piece of advice, no matter that that was. It didn’t matter that Luke himself seemed to no be too keen on his own advice these days.

They finished their session with a long meditation session, and when they had all finished they went their separate ways, completing the small and nominal tasks which they had created themselves in order to keep their minds sharp as they sat in the ship for all this time.

Poe grabbed Finn by the arm, as they made their way up to the upper levels. They looked down at Jess and Rey who were both standing with their arms pulled behind their backs like little girls as they smiled and laughed at one another, their eyelashes batting so hard it was impossible for the other woman to see the others flirting. “Still disagree with me?” He asked with a wink as he gestured down at the women.

Finn shook his head. “We have to get them to admit it first.”

His eyes widened at the idea of the daunting task. “To each other?”

“To themselves.” Finn corrected.

Poe smiled relieved, “I’ll take Jess, you take Rey. We got a whole lot more days no need to rush them.” He said as he made his way to their quarters.

_Eighty-one hours after leaving D’Qar_

Finn caught up with Rey later in the day, she was sitting in the engine room just staring up at the gears and panels as if taking it all apart with her mind. “Hi Finn.” She chirped as he came into the room.

He let out a small laugh. “Does anything need fixing?” He inquired.

She shook her head almost disappointed. He remembered the first time they had been on the Millennium Falcon, him helplessly trying to help her fix the ship. Her mind seemed to move at light speed as she saw every problem and fixed it right away. Perhaps a side effect of her feeling the presence of the Force was that she saw the problems before they occurred.

“Remember when we left Jakku, and I asked you if you had anyone there for you.” She turned and looked at him with a raised brow. “Well did you?”

She corrected him with a curt nod. “Finn, you know I didn’t.” Her voice was cold as she looked up at the gears of the ship, her fingers dancing in the air as if pretending to take them apart.

“No I mean.” He felt so awkward having this conversation, but then he didn’t want to be having the same conversation with Jessika. He knew Rey better. “Friends? People you cared about? You were a kid somebody had to be kind to you?”

She looked down at her hands, remembering the childhood she had on Jakku. There hadn’t been many moments which she had felt like a child, those memories were only the moments which she created for herself, the fantasies in her head of being a star fighter pilot or some great hero. Now her dreams were coming true and… it was as if she was missing so much of the experience of life. She had always been a survivor she knew no other kind of life.

She closed her eyes as familiar faces came to mind, the faces of the older men and women she would never forget. “There weren’t many; a few older women from the outpost but not many of them are left now. Why?”

He felt distraught as he looked at her. “You know you’re not alone anymore.”

She shook her head viciously. “Yes I am.” She was surrounded by others but she was the only one of her kind, the only one of them who was a Jedi. One of the only few Jedi left in the world, had she been born a hundred of years ago she would have been one of thousands. But that wasn’t her fate. She was all alone, just as it seemed that she always was.

She looked up at him, trying to control her emotions like she had been told to do so, but it was becoming harder and harder as they spent more time on the ship. “I’m still alone Finn. You may have found people who are like you, who relate to you, but I haven’t. There are two Jedi’s left Finn, _two_.”

“And how many deflectors from the First Order do you think are left?”

She rolled her eyes understanding his point but not seeing the validity of it. “Finn…” She trailed off not wanted to respond.

“The chances of finding someone who has been through the exact same situations as you are slim, and in all honesty why would you?” He asked rhetorically. Some of the best parts of the past few months besides finding someone to spend it with had been hearing about the world’s that Poe had seen and wanting to see them too. Someone who had been through the same trainings as him would have likely been sympathetic with his struggles in adjusting to the world he was learning about, but Poe pushed him to see things which he had never dreamed of seeing or doing.

She lowered her head, “What are you getting at?” She asked even though she had an inclination as to what his answer would be. Finns mind was surprisingly simple, and she could see into him without him even realizing.

“Friends are good, hell friends can be _great_. But sometimes you need someone more than a friend.” She looked up at him and sighed about to retort. “You like Jessika as more than just a friend don’t you?”

Rey swallowed, her breath catching in her that as she looked at him, not knowing what to say or how to respond. For a moment the image of Jessica’s face flashed before her eyes, she smiled involuntarily for a split second before she composed her face into something more neutral though she still felt hot and flushed as Finn looked at her supportively.

“It’s normal.” He replied “To like someone.”

“I’ve Iiked people before.” Rey replied in a small whisper looking at him with the unsure it of a child.

“But what if she doesn’t like you back?”

Rey reddened as she remembered Jessika pulling in for a kiss earlier in their journey. “I know she… she tried to kiss me.”

He did his best to act surprised though Rey saw the transparency of his lie. She tried not to let him see that she could see right through him.  “Then you have to be brave and try.”

She nodded, the idea of confronting Jessika once more even more daunting than facing the Sith again to her.

_Ninety hours after leaving D’Qar_

They sat around the table, the most of the lights turned off so that the only thing that illuminating the table was a small lantern which had been placed on it. Music was playing in the background; a collection of popular artists being played off of the holo-net.

The cards were sitting on the table, emitting a faint glow themselves to the people who were each holding them in their hands. “All right.” Finn said as he looked at the Sabacc cards in his hand nervously. “That’s it, cards locked and down.”

All four looked at their cards with shifting eyes. They weren’t playing for money, rather they betting with something far more valuable; various chores and tasks which they would need to perform during their missions.

“19.” Jessika said as she placed her cards down on the table.

Finn put his down next “17.”

Rey smiled “Twenty-one.”

They all turned and looked at Poe, who placed his down with a sheepish grin. “Negative five.”

Rey let her head fall back. “How are you sooooo bad at this?”

“How are you all so good at this?” He asked to the room at question.

Finn shrugged, there hadn’t been many off duty actives which had been allowed while he was a storm trooper. But you could always find someone with a deck of cards and some game to play. He probably knew more games to play with fifteen different decks than any of them.

Jessika looked down at her hand. “I used to play with my older brothers.”

Rey looked at her, half surprised. “You have brothers how come you didn’t mention it?” The women had spent much of the two days talking with one another about their home planets and how they came to be a part of the Resistance. Rey had been fascinated to hear about flight school, and Jessika had been dying to hear about Luke Skywalker from somebody who had just spent nearly a year under his tutelage.

“It seemed a little insensitive to mentions when talking to the girl who was stranded on a desert planet by her family when she was five years old.”

“You don’t have to-” She had almost come to terms with the fact that she may never see a family which she couldn’t even remember any more. She had found a cause, a place in the universe where she was needed and valued. But she still had nightmares in which she was being scolded for not heading back soon enough, or where she returned only to know that she had just missed her family returning while she was off having adventures.

But her ruminations were stopped by Poe who was looking at her with wide eyes. “How are _you_ so good at this?” He asked, remembering how remote and desolate Jakku was. He misjudged it as the kind of planet that would be cultural removed from the rest of the galaxy, he was wrong of course. “Are you cheating? Are you using the Force to know when the cards are about to change?”

She rolled her eyes. “You do realize that I grew up playing Sabacc at the outpost to get money before I was old enough to scavenge.”

“You’re using the Force.” He stated firmly.

“No, but now that you mention it I might see if I helps next hand.” She said with a brazen smirk.

Finn chortled as he collected their cards and prepared to deal again. “You know the rules, take something off.” He added in reference to the second betting aspect of the game.

Poe shook his head as he reached down and tugged up on his shirt, he crossed his arms across his scarred chest pretending to shiver as he looked at the rest of his team who was decidedly more clothed. Finn took a moment for his eyes to linger before he began to deal again.

“Oh wait.” Poe stood, he still had his trousers on but besides from that he was unclothed. He skipped into the kitchen and pulled a tall and narrow black bottle and four glasses.

“What’s that.” Jessika grunted as he sat down at the table and began to pour.

“My advantage hopefully.” He passed them each one small glass of the deep brown liquid.

“What is it?” Rey asked as she eyed it.

Poe placed the bottle under his nose and smelled it. “Corellian whiskey, I think.”

Jessika placed the rim of the glass on her lips and hesitated, Rey watched her thin lips quivering with indecision. She looked at her and winked tossing her head back and taking a large sip.  Her face contorted as she swallowed. She let out a gasp as she wiped at the tears forming in her eyes “Definitely not for shots.” She breathed as she winced again. “It tastes like smoke smells.” She said in a high pitched voice.

Poe let out a laugh as Finn dealt the cards. “You know, ladies.” Be began as he placed his hands behind his head “If I lose again you might have to vacate the room.”

“Because you be naked then?” Jess replied casually as she threw a few of the chips they were using to mark as chores into the pool. “Why should I care?”

“Jess.” He tried to remain causal and not show his annoyance at her bravado.

“Is it your lack of self-control or your need for your own vanity to be confirmed by others than you need satisfied? Because neither of them is my problem.” She said as she picked up her cards, knowing that she had burned him but not allowed Poe to see her confidence.

“Damn.” Finn whispered as he placed the glass of whiskey up at his lips, and took a small sip.

Poe picked up his cards and looked at her curiously. “Jess have you ever found a man attractive?”

She sighed looked at him with a tiered expression which silently questioned the validity of his question. “Are you going to be hurt is she says no?” Rey chimed in.

Poe looked at Jessika, watching her look at him with heavy eyes as if he had stepped into a matter which she did not want to discuss. “Jess… I didn’t mean to…”

Jessika stood up from the table, leaving her cards face up as she walked away through the middle level of the ship. She could hear Poe running after her, putting a jacket over his bare chest. He was so narcissistic sometimes, thinking that everything was about him, that everyone in the world was sexually attracted to him.

She walked through the barren ground level of the ship. So much of it was taken up by the cargo hold and the X-wing which was contained within it. She just wanted to be alone, truly alone where none of them could talk with her where it was just her and her own thoughts, but that was a luxury which she wasn’t going to get to experience for a week a least.

“Pava.”

She snapped her head around. “What?” She growled at Poe furiously.

He placed his hands up in the air in surrender. “I’m sorry?”

“How could you embarrass me that way? In front of her and everything.”

A grin formed across Poe’s face and she shook her head tempted to slap it off him. “You like her, don’t you?” He said in a small whisper.

Poe watched as Jessika bit her lip, her face curled down in a small frown. “Am I in trouble for that?” She asked playing with the ends of her hair.

“No.” He shook his head “I just wanted to know what your…. intentions were.” He said, doing his best not to inflected upwards on the phrase as he was unsure of his wording. “I don’t want you hurting her in any manner.”

“Why would I hurt her, I like her.” She interjected with wide eyes.

“Good.” His head bobbed up and down as he considered what to say next. “Good, that was a test.” He added with false confidence.

“A test?” She scoffed. “First of all you are not my brother, or my father or hers for that sake. You have no right to test my affections towards someone else. I understand that Rey is everyone’s favorite orphan but still… she is a grown woman. Now I accept that the chances of her liking me as well as about as slim as me becoming the next Senator from Alderaan, but you have no right to lecture me, or judge my choices in unrequited affections.” She said her chest heaving as she finished her whispering tirade.

Poe did his best to listen to Jessika confess that she had actual feelings for Rey without a large grin on his face the entire time. He was glad to see that she was being expressive with her feelings, though that hardly ever seemed to be a problem with her most of the time. He was worried that she would calm up and not admit it, she would recount her reveal the other day and blame her action on trying to kiss Rey all on alcohol when that wasn’t exactly true.

“I’m not judging you Jess. I’m offering to help you.” Poe replied in a hoarse whisper.

She blinked at him dumbfounded. “Help?”

“Yes you nerfherder.” Finally, there was recognition in her eyes as she looked at him relief dawning on her face.   “You’re done this before right?” He added

“Been in a relationship with a woman, yes exclusively.” She said almost wanting to slap him based on the proud expression on his face. “Though it’s not like I can ask her out on a date easily when we are in hyperspace.”

Poe smiled. “Leave that to us. Consider it a favor returned.” He winked and she understood the meaning, a quid pro quo for what she had helped orchestrate back on the base.

“Oh.” She replied with a mock frown. “I was really growing attached to the idea of Blue Dameron.” She muttered to herself as she headed up to her bedroom, her mind springing with the possibility of hope.

_One Hundred and Six hours after leaving D’Qar_

They stood beneath the shade of the X-wing to where Poe had summoned them all, walking back and forth in his best impression of someone far more tactically minded than him.

“All right crew.” He said with his hands behind his back. “We are going to play a little game.” He continued on with a small smile.

Jessika let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes at him. “And what game is that?” She asked expecting him to suggest some sort of a card game.

He stopped pacing and turned about dramatically. “Find the droid.” He said in a mock whisper.

 Both women looked at him with raised brows. “What?” Rey let out in an exasperated voice.

He smiled even wider. “Somewhere within this ship BB-8 is hidden and were splitting into teams to find him.” He said gesturing with his hands that the teams were to be gender based.

“Who hid him?” Rey asked with narrowed eyes as she looked at both of the grinning men.

“Nobody, he hides himself.” Poe replied proudly.

Jessika placed a hand on her hip, “And what if we don’t find him?”

“He has given us our assurances that after half an hour he will surrender to the cockpit.”

The women looked at one another, silently trying to determine if his was a ruse of any sort. “And this isn’t just some ruse to get us out of your way?” Jess said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Finn shook his head. “Nope.”

“What do the winners get?” Rey asked in a stilted voice.

Poe reached into the pockets and pulled out a small little data disc which was sealed shut. “A pristine recording of the rarely seen…” He paused taking the moment to hype up what he was about, making long pauses as he continued on, teasing them.  “Almost all copies known in existance destroyed… infamously so scarring they only did it once…. Imperial Life Day Special.”

Jess’s mouth hung open and even Finn seemed intrigued as he looked at the disc.  “That was supposed to be so horrific it was good.” Finn whispered under his breath.

“Dancing Vader.” Jess’s chanted her eyes were getting wider and wider. “Wasn’t there supposed to be dancing Vader in it?”

Poe shrugged at both of them. “Winner gets to find out?” Rey wasn’t as intrigued by the prize, but she was up for anything as Poe looked around “On your marks get set go.”

“Control room, control room.” Finn was yelling out as he was pushing his boyfriend towards the inner part of the ship as Poe was responding back that they should perhaps split up instead.

Rey looked at Jess and shrugged. “Should we split up?” She suggested.

Jess looked around shaking her head as she gestured with a silent motion on her hand in a control militaristic manner as she started to walk up the stairs to the upper level as quietly as possible. Rey followed focusing on the small movements of the woman ahead of her. The way the muscles in her back were just visible as she swung her arms naturally, the long black hair in a single ponytail moving like stiff reeds in the wind with every tilt of her head. She paused at the top of the stairs, and Rey watched as her hand reached up in the air, calling for her to pause behind her on the stairs.

Jessika turned her head from side to side, listening both to the continual sounds which the ship made in order to propel through space and sustain life as well as all the additional sounds emanating from around the ship. Poe and Finn’s voices were distant but not faint as the men talked loudly with one another, laughing as they went through the control room bellow them.

Hearing things had always been her strong suit, she could pick out the faintest wrong note in a cantina band performance, she could hear every single timbre and make out every instrument. Jessika closed her eyes and listened, a small voice in the back of her head wondering if this was what it felt like when Rey used the Force.

She could hear the small faint residual electrical hum coming from the droid, giving her a direction. She turned and looked at Rey over the corner of her eye, placing a slender finger to her lips gesturing for her to be quiet as she began to walk towards the faint sound. Rey nodded and followed in kind behind Jessika as they walked along the upper level of the ship.

The upper level of the Corellian Freighter consisted mainly of the cock pit and crew quarters but there were a few other smaller rooms as well, ones that could have been used to house weapons, or even more cargo behind hidden compartments if needed. There was also the small airlock which stood as the barrier between the main ship and the shuttle attached.

Rey followed as Jess walked calmly towards the airlock of the shuttle, her feet crossing over one another as if she was sneaking down a corridor on a Frist Order base trying not to get noticed. She stopped at the doorway to the shuttle and entered in the passcode. The women slipped inside as the door quickly closed behind them.

The shuttle was of a standard design with one long cargo hold and two pilot’s chairs on the other end in front of some panels and a few pull down jump seats. Jessika bent down onto all fours, her eyes closed as she moved around the shuttle with Rey watching her indecisively. She stopped in front of a metal panel and pointed at it.

Rey had no doubt that where every they had gotten this freighter from it was not unaccustomed to the world of smuggling, and by association its shuttle was not either. She assumed that somewhere within the main ship Finn and Poe were knee deep in secret panels and compartments just as Jess was pointing to one now.

Rey got down next to her, placing her hand on the panel and sensing its hollowness and slight warmth from the droid within it. She looked around the shuttle, knowing that she could pull out her lightsaber and cut open the panel but she didn’t know if it would breach the hull of the ship or harm Poe’s droid in the process.

She pointed to the panel near the front of the shuttlecraft marked as a tool kit and Jess jumped up lightly and rummaged around through it until she took the three paces required to walk back to her and hand her a tool to open the panel.

“Gotcha.” Rey chirped as she looked at the glowing eye of the droid which quickly rolled past her, accusing her of using the Force to find him. “I didn’t.” Rey replied angrily at BB-8. “It was Jess who found you.”

Jessika smiled at the droid, happy they had won. “Next time turn yourself off.” She replied lightly as she tapped the droid lightly on the head. “We should get going.” She added as she stood and walked to the airlock.

Rey reached out and took her hand. “Wait.” She said in a hushed voice, she met Jessika’s eye. The pilot was looking at her in anticipation not knowing whether to prepare herself for the best or for heartbreak. Rey let go of her hand, and took a breath to calm herself. She could be brave even if it was very hard to do.

She looked up at Jessika once more and both women’s eyes seemed to understand what the other woman was communicating silently through thought alone. Jess took a step forward, her heard racing with the excitement of possibility as she looked at Rey, her hair thrown up in three buns like she had done her whole life, still dressing like she had done most of her life on Jakku. Everything layer of her clothing was calculated and carefully planned, everything had a function. Rey had always accounted for every possibility in her life, her highly organized and practical ways contributing to her survival. But she was bathed in the blue and white light of hyperspace now, so far removed from the world which she had grown up on.

Jessika outstretched her hand in the space between them as an offering. “Are you sure?” Jessika breathed, she didn’t want to interfere with the life which Rey had planned, with the greater purpose she was meant to have in the universe and yet there was nothing Jessika could do to stop the ideas of longing and the daydreams of a future together which were running through her head.

Rey reached out and took her hand. “Yes.” She breathed as she stepped in toward Jessika and leaned in.

Their lips pressed against one another in a hesitant and childish kiss, as if they were both convinced that by kissing the world would end of the other would turn away. Their lips touched for a few moments before each of them pulled back for air, foreheads resting against each other as their eyes fluttered open.

Jess looked into Rey’s dark eyes. “Is that all?” She laughed as she squeezed onto the hand which she was holding.

Rey shook her head and gulped as looked up into Jessika’s eyes. “No.” She answered as she took a deep breath and leaned in once more.

This time lips parted as they wrapped their arms around one another. Rey could fell Jessika wetting her lips in between each kiss as one hand grabbed onto a head of hair and another slowly slid down her back. They were becoming entwined with one another, twisting their bodies around as they swayed from side to side, gently moving about the shuttle with small cautious steps. Jessika dug her nails into Rey’s back and she let out a soft squeal as she bit down catching Jessika’s lip. They pulled back away from each other for a moment giggling as they rubbed their noses against one another.

A cool hand reached behind Rey’s neck, pulling at the bottom of her hair as Jessika came towards her once more. There was a support in their movements, a comfort which was blossoming as they touched one another, each finger brushing more electric than the last. Rey pushed forward wanting more, never wanting this moment of this feeling of power and powerlessness to end.

Jessika felt her foot collide with the side of the shuttle. She let out a wince of pain as Rey took a step back away from her, her face apologetic. “Sorry.” She breathed

“It’s alright.” Jessika murmured.  She looked down at BB-8 who let out an excited chirp. “We should go meet the others.”

“Yeah.” She said blinking almost as if their passionate kissing had all been a dream. “Jessika…” A childish look fell across her face once more “I really, really like you.” She laughed not knowing what else to say.

Jessika beamed at the woman who was standing before her with her hair all in a tangle mess. “I really, really like you too Rey.” She said as she took her hand and led her out of the shuttle.

They walked down to the cargo bay where Poe and Finn were waiting to greet them, they smiled and made a few comments but none of that mattered, as BB-8 likely chirped away the account of them kissing one another, they were holding hands smiling at one another unabashedly. For just a moment there was quiet as the universe was as it was supposed to be


	4. Chapter Four

_One hundred and thirty hours after leaving D’Qar_

They had spent a day holding hands, cuddling tell one another about their lives and experiences. Rey and Jessika had been almost inseparable worrying about only each other as they continued to find ways to waste time in hyperspace. Soon they would be on Dantooine and able to explore a new world. They were slowly reading up on the planet, deciding where they would want to land and explore first. But there was still time to waste.

Rey squinted at the picture on the data pad as she held a chunk of Jessika’s hair in her hands. “How in all the stars did they used to do this?” She said as she twisted and twirled the strands trying her best to copy the image of the complicated updo.

“I think most people had someone doing it for them.” Jessika smiled as she looked at Rey’s adorably confused face as she braided one stand of hair and then entwined it with another, pinning it up in a spiral.

She was endearingly flustered. “There had to be some women who had to manage this on their own.” Rey said with a fistful of pins in her mouth as she worked again off of the reference of the Republic era hairstyle.

Jessika smiled as Rey shook her head, undoing a braid and trying it once more. She finally gave up with a heavy sigh. Jessika watched as Rey held up the small mirror to allow her to see her own hair. Half of it was up in knotted and twisted in a series of braids while the bottom half was turned up and rolled under. She looked up at Rey and smiled. It was nothing like the photograph but she hadn’t expected it to be so. Rey hadn’t done much in her life which was starkly feminine, just looking at her would tell you that.

“You did great.” Jess whispered as she took her hand and squeezed it. “Your turn.”

Rey looked daunted as she took her place in the chair watching in the mirror as Jessika undid her hair, letting her dark locks fall down to her shoulders. Jess ran her hands through her hair, gently untangling them her short nails reaching down to massage her scalp. It was comforting to feel someone else touch her.

There was something about surrender her body to another person which should have seemed terrifying, something about not knowing which part of her body would be touched next, the spontaneity was soothing. Jess continued to run her fingers through Rey’s hair, enjoying the action herself until she began to twist it into different angles and shapes.

“Did you ever have long hair?” Jess asked as she twisted at her hair.

“No.” She shook her head. “It would get caught in stuff if it was long.” She replied sadly. It was strange to image that the life she had led as a scavenger might be one that she may never return back to. Part of her was ecstatic at such a thought, while another larger part of her was terrified of what her life would look like if they ever did manage to finally extinguish the darkness for good. But those were things which were easy to forget about as Jessika twisted her hair around her fingers.

It felt a bit like dress up, though neither of the woman had done that when they were children. Playing with their hair, pretending they belonged to a time which was so far away now it seemed more like a dream than history. The idea of the galaxy in relative peace, the idea of good triumphing was something none of them on the ship had ever known to existance in their lifetime. None of them would live long enough to see a new Jedi order be established to the ranks that it once was, maybe that was a blessing, maybe it was better to establish a new legacy than follow an old one.

There was a gentle knock on the door. “Come in.” They both said in unison as Rey looked down at her hair, most of it was down at her shoulders with just a few strands pulled back, she looked entirely different, though it wasn’t a bad sort of different.

Poe was smiling at them both, “Are you going to braid my hair too?”

He asked it in jest, but soon Jessika had pulled him into the room as well as both women were braiding small strands of his hair into a dozen small braids which stood up at all different angles each of them trying to use a different technique with each strand. He looked at himself in the mirror, it was decidedly not a look he was willing to support at any time soon, but they were both chuckling over him.

Ten minutes after they had pulled Poe into the room Finn came looking for him. He laughed as he looked at them all with their strange hair. He felt somewhat left out, his hair was getting longer but he still kept it short enough that there was nothing he could really do with it. Still they pulled him into the room, spending a good ten minutes all huddled over him, talking in silly voices make it impossible for him to see the mirror.

“Oh no, I think we can surely manage some gel.” Jess said as she reached across the sink.

“Bantha Fodder.” Rey cursed, as she began looking about the room for something to attach to his head.

“Poe?” He looked up at his boyfriend in a cry for help.

“Sorry dear but they are rather insistent.” He said, biting at his lips after almost every word to keep himself from laughing.

Poe gave him a glare, to insinuate that the pilot didn’t exactly fit regulation standard at the moment either. When the women were both done and they had made quite a show of blocking his view from the mirror they both stepped aside looking down upon him with amused pride as he looked into the mirror.

There was a series of air clips pinned at the side of his head, and a piece of rip cord which had been tied around his head like a bow. “Very…. Nice.”

Unable to contain himself Poe broke out into laughter bending over as his head fell forward, the small collection of braids with it as he looked at Finn. “You do not look attractive right now.” He said through wheezing laughter as he clutched his side.

“Neither do you.” Finn shot back as he gently smacked Poe on the arm. They both let out a laugh before embracing one another and kissing each other passionately.

Jessika reached across to her bed and picked up her data pad switching it to the camera function. “For posterity.” She said as she quickly snapped a few photos of them with their hair in compromising positions both she and Rey making faces while the men were oblivious.

“I swear to stars Pava if those find their way around the Resistance you will be more than out of a job.” He added before both he and Finn left the room their hair still intact.

_One Hundred and Forty-Six hours after leaving D’Qar_

“So what is the climate like on Dantooine again.” Jessika shouted through the open door of her quarters as she looked at the selection of clothes which she had laying out on her bed. She had over packed as always. Her prize for being able to pack so much into the single bag she had brought on board was that she was now prepared for any weather they might encounter. She had a jacket for snow, a jacket for rain, a jacket in case of sand storms. “No seriously I need some help.” She called out again to the silence of the ship as she looked down at the many clothes upon the bed.

“So I assume that is for all of us then?” She turned to see Finn standing in the doorway peering into her room. “Because that is enough to clothe an entire unit.”

She turned and looked at him, sticking out her tongue. “Please help.” She replied genuinely, as you can see I have a bit of a problem.

Finn took a step into her room, picking up the heavy jacket which she had brought with her and placing it to the side of her bed. “It’s a rather arid place.”  He muttered as he looked down at the rest of the bed. He really didn’t know how she had managed to fit so much into the one bag which she had managed to bring on board.

“Have you been there?”

Finn shook his head. “I haven’t really ever left much of the sector of the galaxy where I met Poe in, at least I don’t think.” He paused taking a moment to look down at his hands. It wasn’t as if he had once had a map attached to the side of his bunk where he crossed off which planets he had been too as he did now.

She nodded at him curtly. “Didn’t you want to see other places.”

“Of course.” He replied, seeing the other planets in the galaxy hadn’t even really been something which he had thought about when he had been a storm trooper. He had followed his orders, gone to the places which he had been told to, day dreaming had been something which they hadn’t managed to squash out of him.

There was so much about his life that he had to accept that he would never learn. The planet that he came from, who his parents were and what his real name had been. He assumed he had been taken by the First Order, but what if his parents had offered him willingly. He tried not to think of that as he remembered some of the things which he had read about Dantooine.

“It’s mostly grasslands,” He said as he reached for the rain jacket with a hood on it and thrusted it towards her. “But I think it is coming up on the rainy season.”

“Thanks Finn.” She added, even though she had known him for nearly a year she was still getting to know him as they spent time isolated in hyperspace. “What am I going to do with all of this though.” She muttered more rhetorically under her breath knowing that any extra articles of clothing could be passed on to someone else, or left on the ship.

“Did someone say fashion show?” Poe was standing in the doorway with a bright smile on his face. For some reason he had been begging for them all to swap clothes for a day since they had set off from D’Qar.

Finn scowled at him. “No one said fashion show.” His main argument had been that most of their clothes were the said Resistance issued fatigues and they already had that one jacket which was passed around like a torch between them.

Jessika looked at Poe and shrugged, there was nothing else to do and they had nearly run out of all options to entertain themselves. “Yes.” Poe said as he threw his head back and raise a victorious fist into the air. “Rey get all the clothes you own and put them in the medbay.” He ran off squealing happily as he went to his quarters and returned moments later with an armful of clothes.

“Wait not the medbay… we might need the medbay after I shoot you for making us do a fashion show.” Finn called out as he chased after him.

Ten minutes later, piles of clothes were covering every open surface in the medbay as Poe and Jessika were grabbing out of them at random and placing outfits together on the examination chair. Jessika had taken the tan and red jacket almost immediately claiming that she had been the only one of them who had not yet worn it. Rey was the only one who knew that not to be true, she had slipped it on when she had found it lying in the kitchen area the night before. In fact, they had all taken to leaving the jacket which now had a patch of blue fabric where the lightsaber had slashed though it, somewhere on the ship and wearing it communally when needed. There was a small debate on who got Rey’s lightsaber before she firmly stated that it was one weapon which she was not sharing. There had even been an attempt to attach a small bow to BB-8’s antenna before it squealed in protest and rolled away.

“Okay, music.” Poe called out as he pressed a button on the data pad and bouncing music began to play. Finn was rolling his eyes in embarrassment as they all stood leaning against the outer wall of medical bay waiting for Jess to make her descent from the level above which she had taken the back stairs to.  “And record.” BB-8 let a small beep, and a red light atop his head turned on to signal that he was recording his proceedings.

Jessika appeared at the top of the stairs, a serious expression on her face as she began to walk down them. “Ladies and gentlemen here we have a top resistance pilot in a vintage battle de-stressed jacket with standard grade fatigues.” Poe called out a smooth and silky voice as she descended the stairs. “Notice how the pants have been rolled up to different lengths to allow for creativity, and the added desert goggles to accommodate for weather occasions. This is a practical day look which I have no doubt will be sweeping the galaxy soon.”

Jess reached the bottom of the stairs and managed to keep a straight face until Finn, who needed much coercion turned to head up to the upper level to go next. Jessika stood next to Rey, placing her head on her shoulder as she looked upwards to see Finn standing at the top with his arms crossed against his chest.

“Please don’t make me do this.” He called out to those bellow.

“Oh come on, you know I still love you.” Poe replied, the details of his costume jingling with every movement beneath the robe which he was wearing.

“Turn him off.” Finn replied gesturing to the droid. “I don’t want anybody to see this every again.”

Poe sighed but gestured to BB-8 that he should stop recording the droid gave a small whirl and the light turned off. He looked back up at Finn giving him a welcoming gesture and Finn began to walk down the stairs uneasily as Poe began to narrate in a kinder voice than he had used for Jessika.

“Here we have the best in fashion being show by a stunning specimen of a man.  Ladies and gents the hottest trend of the season will definitely be pairing your flight suit with a cutting winter coat. Notice how the orange and blue make a bright statement, pair this with your shiniest helmet or fur hat for a look that works for the chill of space. And don’t forget accessories, gloves as necessary for your hands but a blaster is all for you.”

“Are you done now?” Finn called out halfway down the stairs.

“All right I am done…” Poe frowned. “Rey it’s your turn.” She set off at a run as Finn made his way down, tearing off the cold weather jacket which was too small for him and tossing it to Jess. “Thank you for indulging me.” He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Poe.

Finn let out a small grumble. “Your welcome.”

“It wasn’t that bad was it?” He asked sweetly.

“No.” Finn replied as they looked at Rey who was beaming down at them from above. “But for future reference I prefer to dress myself.” It had been something which he was only recently able to do, and he knew that while Poe likely tiered of dressing in the same three practical outfits, the freedom was something Finn relished.

Rey cleared her throat loudly, calling them all to attention as she began her descent.

“And here we have the latest in the old becoming new again.” Poe called out in his pompous voice as she made her way down the stairs, showing off to them all. “This new Jedi chic, will be all the rage in the coming years. With the call back to the olden day and her robe-like top.” She had taken several shirts and layered them together across one another. “Situated for the rain,” She popped the hood of the tan rain coat which she was wearing, “And any other weather imaginable in the galaxy. Of course the highlight of this outfit is the….” He paused as she removed her lightsaber from her belt activating both ends and lightly swinging it from side to side.

Rey finished walking down the stairs, spinning her lightsaber to their cheers and wallops.

Then it was Poe’s turn. He stood at the top of the stairs bathed in light as he looked down at them, with a smoldering look on his face as he walked down Jessika breathing a soft narrative. His pants were black and his boots were standard but just about everything else in his outfit was out of the ordinary. “And now we have… Poe Dameron in….” Jess breathed unable to comment on anything else.

He was topless underneath Rey’s grey vest, his hair was pushed back in a sleek manner and he had a scarf of socks tied together. Around his waist he had taken one of the long gauze wraps from the medical bay and tied nearly everything shinny and metallic he could manage to find to it. There were credit chips, small pairs of scissors, a few cups from the kitchen and other medical supplies which clanged together with each step he took. He had taken a few moments to quickly manage to put on some makeup, there was bright pink lipstick on his lips and blue eye shadow drawn into swirling lines on his scruffy face. It was brash, it was barren, it was absolutely horrible and yet he continued talking his proud steps until he reached the bottom of the stairs, striking a pose.

“Please tell me this is not your version of a sexy medical droid.” Finn said as he looked at him shaking his head.

“No.” Poe said, hurt at the idea that the women were both laughing at him. “This is… its… its fashion.”

Jess and Rey looked at one another shaking their head. “Never again.” They muttered as they began to take off their borrowed clothes and headed into the medbay to sort out their belongings.

  _One hundred and Sixty-six hours after leaving D’Qar_

“All right crew of the Defiance.” Poe called out over the intercom referencing the name which they had managed to pick out in the late hours of the evening before. “We are coming out of hyperspace and we’ll be in the Dantooine system within the hour.” He exited off the coms with a gentle buzz and Rey turned to look at Jessika who was lying across the bed on her room.

Part of her feared that as soon as they set down on the planet her feelings for Jessika would disappear, or that she would snap back into reality and remember that there was a mission at hand and that this was no time to be establishing relationships. Maybe they had all been foolish in trying to have a personal life while fighting a war, it hadn’t exactly worked for those who were supposed to be their role models.

Jessika was sitting on the bed reading on her data pad, her long dark hair trailing down her back as she bit the bottom of her lip, her face showing the excitement which she clearly felt in relation to the characters in the story she was reading. Rey wanted to sit next to her to run her hands through her silky hair and ask her again about all the things she had seen in this world. She wanted to ask Jessika if it would just be possible for the two of them to get a ship and travel to the reaches of the galaxy and leave all of this behind. She knew that Jessika would be the one to remind her that they had duties, that they had purposes and roles to play in the battles which were unfolding. But sometimes in her dreams Rey wished that she could just go back to Jakku or any other planet and spend the rest of her life with Jessika instead.

The ship gave a shutter as they exited out of hyperspace, for a moment uneasiness passed over them as their bodies readjusted to traveling at slower speeds under the normal pull of gravity. Jessika looked up from her story and placed her data pad down as she stood up in one swift motion. “Come on.” She said as she took Rey gently by the hand.

“But-” She began in protest, she didn’t want to leave this room, she didn’t wasn’t to leave the comforts of what happened alone in hyperspace.

Jessika looked at her fondly. “Don’t you want to see what it looks like from space?”

Rey felt herself nod as Jessika laughingly pulled her into the corridor and they walked the short distance to the cockpit. The doors opened and Rey felt her breath catch in the throat as she looked at the blue, green and golden world painted behind a velvety background of twinkling stars and distant planets, two moons peeking out from behind the shadow of the planet.

A smile was dawning on her face as she looked at Dantooine, noticing the smaller details. White wisps of cloud formations visible from this high above, blue tendrils of water which seemed to surround so much of the land and cut through the continents like snakes in the sand. She saw the differences in every planet, she felt the changes in the earth, in the very gravity and the foundations upon which it was built. When she looked at Dantooine Rey was filled with a calm tranquility. The planet held mysteries abound, and it was scarred by the wars which had torn it apart, and yet the Force was strong here. 

“It’s beautiful.” Rey whispered as she stepped up to the front to press her forehead against the cold window.

Jessika laughed behind her. “Well now that I see that anything amazes you I’m finding it hard to see what you see in me.” She said sarcastically.

Rey turned and looked upon her with a fake pout. “I see a whole lot in you Jessika Pava.” Rey began. “I see a little girl who grew up on a beautiful planet of corruption and death. I see a woman who lost one brother to the Death Troopers, and another to organized crime. But through it all you were strong and brave and never let anybody else change your morality and your dreams.”

Jessika swallowed. “It’s a little bit frighten how you can see right through me like that with the Force and all.”

Rey shook her head as she reached out and took her hand. “I’m not looking through you. I’m not reading your mind. I’m looking at you and paying attention.”

She wrapped her arms around her as they looked down on the planet silent for a long while as they approached, other ships coming into view as the space around them came alive. “What are you worried about?” Jessika asked her gently.

Rey bowed her head. “That this might not last.” She breathed.

Knowing that she was referring to their relationship Jessika was silent for a moment as she pondered upon her response. She too had similar fears that their relationship would be squandered by their independent spirits of the authority of someone above them both.

“Then let us not reserve our affections fearing that this has an expiration date. That way if we ever do part, we will part knowing that we have made an honest effort of pouring our souls into one another.”

Rey looked at her, taken aback by the eloquence of her Jessika’s soft words. She nodded her head slowly in agreement as she placed her hand up to the other woman’s face. Caressing her tender face, feeling the smooth skin beneath her rough fingers. She didn’t want this to end, it wasn’t a sharp passion of longing between them, it was a gentle serenity as if they had coexisted beside on another for eons.

Rey knew that of all the causes in the world, it would be death its self which had the greatest change of tearing them apart. She didn’t want death to break them up when they were estranged or mad at one another, as inevitable as those fractions were she wanted there always to be a peace between them.

She brushed her thumb across Jessika’s pink lips, the other woman looking at her with eyes filled with hope as she moved closer to one another. They kissed, arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace as their lips moved over one another. Rey was standing on the tips of her toes, her whole body shivering with a pleasant current as Jessika breathed into her. Rey ran her hands across the others woman’s bare shoulders and Jessika gave a small moan as she twisted her body.

“Oh hey you two.” Poe said as he walked into the cockpit. They both lowered down to the heels of their feet as they broke apart watching as he casually sat down in the pilot’s chair and began flipping switches on the control panel. “I’m going to need one of you to help me.”

The woman looked at each other, knowing that interruptions were something they simply had to take in stride. “Sure what do you need?” Jess asked sharply as she walked back to the controls and had a seat in the co-pilots chair.

Poe looked at the controls flustered, they had all been playing with them over the course of the week and many settings had been changed. “I’m trying to send a message back to base that we have arrived. But I can’t seem to find the-”

Rey who was now standing over his shoulder, reached across him and flipped a small button. “There you go.” She said smugly.

He rolled his eyes as he talked into the communicator. “This is The Defiance Freighter, calling into base to confirm that we have arrived in the Dantooine system.” He pushed the channel button off as he turned to look at Rey. “I would have figured it out eventually.” He replied cockily.

She shrugged as they waited for the response. “Confirmed Defiance Freighter. Have you landed on planet?” Came back the sweet voice of an unidentified woman.

“Uh, negative. We are approaching atmosphere and have not chosen a place to settle down yet.” He said hesitantly as he looked at both Rey and Jessika who gave nods and shrugs of confirmation.

There was a long wait for a response before the same voice replied. “Thank you, please let us know when you have _landed_ on the planet.” It replied in an irate voice.

Poe made a small mocking face before he switched off the communications line back to the Resistance. He looked at Rey “Any idea of where to land.”

For a moment she was caught off guard, before she realized that she was in fact in the lead for this mission. She was the reason they were heading to Dantooine. “No, I hadn’t…. Where are the settlements located?”

Jessika pulled up a more detailed map of the planet. “The actual settlement with designated place to land are pretty few and far between. The planet isn’t built up very much, however there is a lot of empty land so we could just land anywhere.”

“And get in trouble with the farmer whose field we land in?” Poe shook his head. “No we should find somewhere official to land. We’ll have the fly over the planet see if Rey gets any Force vibes and then go from there.”

Rey nodded, mentally accepting her position as their leader. “What if where we need to go is in the middle of nowhere?” She asked.

Poe sighed, “Then we get land speeders or take the shuttle and the X-wing.”

“Speaking of,” Jessika began. “Do we have a cover purpose for landing on this planet in a freighter with just an unmarked X-wing in the cargo hold?”

He stood up. “Finn job is cover stories let me ask him.” He said as he ran out of the room.

“Or you could, you know, call him up to the bridge?” Jessika muttered bitterly as he left.

Poe listened to the sounds of the women speaking with one another growing fainter and fainter. He walked down the stairs of the ship, looking at his X-wing fondly. Part of his missed flying the ship, though part of his was getting used to the idea of living on a ship like this for the rest of his life. Maybe it was something he could consider when all this was over, living on a ship in space for the rest of his life, traveling and trading, he wondered if Finn would like it.

“Hey come on.” He heard the other man say. Finn was down on his hands and knees. “This was not my idea, don’t me mad at me.” He added as he looked into the eye of BB-8. The droid was rolling away from the paint brush that Finn had in his hand. “We all have to have disguises and that includes you too.” He placed the brush down and looked up at Poe exasperated.

Poe smiled as he got down on the floor with Finn and looked at his droid. “I don’t like it either buddy, but that’s the problem with having a custom paint coat.” BB-8 chirped at him condescendingly “Oh please you choose orange.” Poe snapped back as he reached out and grabbed the droid with both hands. “Sorry in advance.” He muttered as he gently tapped the switch to deactivate it.

Now neutralized he placed BB-8 on the ground and picked up another paint brush, helping Finn repaint the droid. “Did we hit atomo already?” Finn asked.

“Any moment now.” Poe replied as he carefully changed the orange to a dark green. “Rey is just deciding on where to put us down.” He looked up and gave his boyfriend a small smile. “What are the uh, names you came up with us all.”

Finn reached across for a data pad which was sitting on the floor. He never specialized in computers, but he had been given enough analyst training from the First Order to tell when an identification profile was falsified. He scrolled through the displays until he found the profiles which he had made. “The Defiance Carrier, stationed out of Corellia, its easiest to say we are from a largely populated central planet, that way its more believable when nobody has heard of us. Here on Dantooine to pick up some agricultural supplies to take to a moon of Mandalore.  Jess is Anaveal Chordstream our pilot, Rey is Becrux Dawn engineer of the ship, you are Erendon Thar owner of the ship and I am Regor ship security.”

Poe leaned over and looked at the readout. “Regor Thar?” He said his face tranquil.

Finn stumbled blankly, “Uhhh.”

“It’s what you wrote.” Poe said flatly. “And by now Rey had already transmitted this signal out to any authorities. You’re obviously not my brothers so….” He paused and looked at Finn with a wide grin. “In this situation we are married?”

Finn looked at him with a panicked expression. It had been a mistake which he hadn’t even noticed himself making. Last names were something he rarely thought of since he didn’t have one. He was expecting Poe to be mad, but his eyes were lost in pleasant thought. “Poe?” He whispered unsurely.

“How did you purpose?” he asked with a tilt of his head, his eyes melting into puddles as he teased his partner.

“What do you mean?” Finn asked quickly.

“Well we want to have our story straight, how did you purpose? How long have we been married? Where did we get married?” He reached out and flicked a bit of the green paint on Finn’s nose.

“I uhhh….” Finn stumbled as he came to the realization that Poe was not mad, in fact he was almost ecstatic that they would get to play along with this idea that they were married. “Three years. We were married on Mandalore.”

Poe laughed as he schooted next to him, beginning to forget about the half repainted droid. “Mandalore huh? We really like Mandalore don’t we?”

He shrugged “Well you know you would think that the First Order would do a better job at teaching galactic geography but they don’t…” He paused to lean into him beginning to get lost as he looked up into the shining face which looked down upon him with such affection. “You purposed at a candle light dinner by the sea.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, and we are considering adopting and staring a family.” Finn said in a small whisper.

Poe’s eyes widened. “A Mandalorian.”

“Ov’ course. Out dream is to settle down on Mandalore one day and open a museum capturing the greatest of that planet which neither of us are from.” He said with a chuckle as he continued to paint the droid.

“Okay, but when we do adopt a child their middle name needs to be Blue.”

The laughing stopped. “Reeeally?” Finn said pulling back looking at Poe with surprise.

“Well unless Jessika dies and then it will probably have to be their first name. Kirff, I hope it’s not a Chiss.” He paused failing to understand why Finn was looking at him so shocked. “What?”

Finn blinked. “You’d be okay with that one day… us married and raising a family.”

“Yeah.” Poe nodded. “Preferably not on Mandalore though. Is that okay with you?”

Finn nodded slowly before he leaned in and kissed his fiercely on the lips. “I love you, and I am really glad that I choose you to be my getaway driver.”

Poe chuckled as he ran a hand down the other man’s back gently running along the scar that spanned his spine. “Yeah me too.”

There as a sound of static as Rey’s voice came on over the coms. “Just to let you know, we’re about to touch down so be prepared.”

The men both smiled at one another, as they scooted along the metal floor so that they could have room to both lie down without kicking BB-8. “What’s our ETA?” Poe asked as Finn pushed him down to the floor and began to undo his pants.

“Fifteen minutes.” Rey replied.

“Better make this quick then Mr. Thar.” Finn whispered into his ear.

“You too Mr. Thar.” Poe replied.

“Oh kriff turn off the coms quick Rey.” Jessika called out before the line screeched and went dead.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going up to an E rating for some things that will happen in later chapters.
> 
> I also make some illusions to some characters from the great "Campain" Podcast. Its a Star Wars related podcast, knowledge of the podcast or the characters isn't needed, it was just something I felt compelled to do.
> 
> Also just a word of warning, things are going to be getting a lot less fluffy and more drama filled in the next few chapters.

The grasslands and shallow hills of Dantooine were surprisingly well equipped at hiding settlements and towns which did not want to be found. It was after mid-day by the time they landed on the planet but the first town which they arrived at didn’t have a large enough port for them to land at. The second settlement which they landed at, which was run by the native Dantari wanted to hold their ship for nearly a week and examine it before they let them set foot on the planet. They tried two more settlements on the Northeastern continent before they finally managed to find a friendly enough place to allow them to land. Rey wasn’t half surprised, she remembered how hostile those who lived on Jakku could be of outsiders. But by the time they found the settlement of Ula’ree, it was well into the evening.

Ula’ree was hidden in a collection of rolling hills and protected by a strangely dark swampland they had landed the ship in port. They were all becoming more and more annoyed with the people of Dantooine. Exhausted and only wanting sleep it had been Poe who had found the rooms at only place available, The Merciful Vornskr Inn and Tavern. Rey had been too tired to pay attention to her surroundings as she walked up the stairs to the upper levels of the room, collapsing onto the bed, the distant sounds of Kath hounds screeching in the night discomforting but she paid them no attention.

She awoke to bright sunlight in her face, rolling over in the bed looking at the room which was decorated in its best attempts to be somewhat homey. The bed was large, and she vaguely remembered Jessika lying down next to her with no words the night before. Perhaps it had been a hopeful dream, but Rey looked over to the covers on the other side of the bed which were wrinkled with use and the extra pack sitting on a chair and smiled. As she realized it was not. She stood, taking a moment to look out of the window at the swaying grasslands of Dantooine.

It seemed that every planet she traveled to was stranger than the last, each one containing things which she could only dream about. As a child she had read every piece of writing about the galaxy that she could get her hands on, she listened to everyone who had traveled outside of the system. She would dream about her family coming back and showing her all the places that she had read about. They were never coming back… but she had a new family now.

Rey dressed in her familiar cut off pants and boots placing the grey vest over her chest and the wraps up her bare forearms. She looked at her bag and the light saber inside of it. She reached to grab it before she remembered that this was the first time in almost year where she was no longer in a place where she was in the safety of people who wanted her protected. Wearing the lightsaber unconcealed would make them more of a target to anyone who was going to tell the First Order. She left it in her bag, knowing that she was only going to look for Jess and the others and find out what their next plan was.

The corridor of the upper level of the Merciful Vornskr were narrow and confined, the metal walkways filled with small tapestries in an attempt to make it seem warmer and more like a home rather than an outpost at the edge of the galaxy. There were several other doors which lead to other rooms, each marked on them with scrolling hand written letters as to their designation.

She walked up and down looking at the fifteen doorways which likely lead to rooms of various sizes. But she didn’t know which one Finn and Poe were in. After spending five minutes exploring listening to the sounds of the people behind those doors she walks down the metal stairs to the first level of the bar.

There was a commonality between this and the bars which she had seen in her travels. The strong smells of smoke and alcohol hung in the air over the small stage with a bright pink keyboard pushed into one corner of the room. Several battered tables were occupied by men and women of all species who were talking and drinking early in the morning. She looked through the crowd of twenty, trying to see her companions. Jessika was sitting at the bar eating breakfast, unaware that she had come down the stairs. But Poe and Finn were nowhere to be seen, likely still asleep Rey made her way through the sea of round tables towards the shining metal bar.

A familiar beep caught her ear as she turned to see BB-8 at the feet of a large greenish grey Trandoshan who was eyeing the droid with the intent to steal it. "Hey" Rey yelled to get its attention. "Leave the droid alone." She said in a calm voice.

The head of the innkeeper snapped up to watch the interaction with a curious smile as the Trandoshan stepped away from BB-8 and hissed “I'll leave the droid alone."

"Thank you." Rey replied loftily as she walked by him, telling BB-8 to follow along with a tilt of her head.

She sat down upon one of the plush stools next to Jessika at the bar. This part of the inn, just like everything else had a sense of a homestead. There were images tacked up, more like that of a family rather than boasting shots of famous people who had made their way through this sector, though there were a few of those too. There was a colorful floral kimono hung up for display above the steaming and hissing valves of the distillery, a collection of eye patches hanging from hooks and when she looked up there was a battered and fading militaristic helmets staring down at her.

"They’re old clone trooper helmets." Jessika said as she flowed Rey's gaze

"Clones?" Rey breathed the idea of such a thing dazzling foreign to her.

"From the Clone Wars, long before either of us were born." She replied. "The Republic and the Jedi cloned a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter for their army."

"What happened to them?" Rey asked as she noticed the individualities on each of the helmets, the changes in paint jobs the small tally marks or nicknames written on them.

"Well those ones are all dead, but it seems as if someone is always using clones for some war." She muttered into her cup as she took another sip. Even now in this war, there were still cloned Stormtroopers used by the First Order.

Rey lowered her head away from the helmets which appeared on first sight to be terrifying. She looked at Jessika who had her hair back in braids and was tapping the rim of the cup of caf in front of her absentmindedly. Just the sight of her, thinking about something far off and distant made her smile. Somehow, without her noticing a cup of caf had been placed in front of Rey as well as a plate of bright yellow eggs, meat and a greyish slice of bread.

She began eating enthusiastically. "Where are the boys?" She asked through a mouth full of eggs.

Jessika smiled, trying to find her enthusiasm over food charming rather than mildly irritating as she remembered that the girl had grown up on dried rations her whole life. "They went into town to look for a speeder."

Rey rolled her eyes. "I wish they had taken me."  Knowing that she would not like what they came back with or that she would have likely been able to haggle a better deal.

Jessika had heard all about the speeder which Rey had built for herself of Jakku out of salvaged parts and all of the tricks and techniques that she had modified it for. "We don’t have time for you to make us a speeder. We can't all be heroes"

"I'm not much of a hero." Rey replied instinctively shaking her head. She had met those whom she considered to be legends and myths, those who had helped take down the Empire, she was nothing like any of them yet.

"You helped take down the Star Killer." Jess whispered in a low voice so they could not be overheard.

A warm smile fell across the bartender as he listened in on their conversation. "Murder murder ball or would it be murder murder murder ball?" He murmured under his breath.

Rey shook her head "I didn't help. You were up there shooting at the thing."

"You fought Ky-"

Rey reached out and placed a hand across her mouth, "All right that enough now." She said quickly, she had fought Kylo Ren she had defeated him, but even she had to admit that for a moment she gave into the darkness which he wanted her to do. She had learned since they, she had gotten a real teacher, but somehow Luke Skywalker’s teachings of peace made her more afraid of facing Ren again. "We don’t want to give anything away."

Jessika let out a small laugh as Rey turned her attention to the man who was behind the bar. He was looking at Rey with interest, as if they shared a common interest with one another. His skin was incredibly pale with faint markings all over his face and small horns sprouting from his head. "What are you?" Rey asked as she looked at the pale man before her.

"Hey." Jessika yelped. "I'm sorry she's not civilized yet." she added in a mocking tone to the bartender whose lips were beginning to crack a smile.

"J-." She began to call out her name scandalized, until she remembered that on Dantooine they need to use pseudonyms.

"Well you need to learn." Jessica said as she looked at Rey. "There are things you just can't stay. I don't want you upsetting a Wookie and losing your arms."

"Wookies like me." She said with an innocent shake of her head.

"One Wookie likes you there's a difference." She replied firmly

"That's alright." the bartender interjected their banter “I'm a Zabrak not many of my kind leave my home planet."

Rey's face slowly began to light up as she looked at the older man perhaps finding a connection with the stranger. "I only just let my planet too. How did you end up here?" She said brightly.

He shook his head. "I left when I was very young." He replied, a shadow of pain crossing his face which she could relate to.

"Oh," Rey replied not wanting to ask if there was a reason he didn’t go back, her own departure from Jakku informing her that such rationale might be difficult to speak of.

He looked at her and gave her a small crooked smile as she looked down at her food. “That was quite impressive.” She looked up at his pale red eyes through the hair which had fallen in her face. Somehow she didn’t need to ask what he was referring to, she already knew.

Rey bit her lip as she looked at him. “You’re not going to…” She replied in the faintest of whispers.

He shook his head. “No.”

“Are you?” Her face turning alight as she hoped that somehow he too was a Jedi.

“No.” He replied abruptly.

She looked down, sighing. She didn’t want to be alone in the world she didn’t want to be one of the only Jedi in the world. “I met someone recently,” She began as she looked up into his encouraging eyes. “She knew of the way the….” She said the next word in a small whisper. “ _force_ worked, but she wasn’t…”

“Just because someone decided to wipe out all the Jedi in the world doesn’t mean that there will stop being people who can feel the force.” He said in a small whisper.

She leaned in, “So you would have been a Jedi? If you had been born in a different time.”

He closed his eyes. “You need to learn more about the universe.” He said bitterly in reply as he moved down the bar to serve someone else.

Rey reached out her hand. “Wait.” She called out impatiently trying to stop him with the Force.

The Zabrak was not swayed. He shook his head in disappointment at her as he frowned. “This isn’t the time or the place for those sorts of conversations.” He replied before he turned away down a corner of the bar.

Rey sighed, folding into herself as her face formed into a childish pout. She had spent so much of her recent time surrounded by the kindness of others, of people who knew who she was. She had forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by people whose life you just passed through. People who had no time for the questions of someone who was young and unexperienced in the world.

She and Jessika continued to eat their breakfast in silence as people came in and out of the tavern portion of the Merciful Vornskr. They were a mix of all different species, mostly people dressed in common clothes, likely locals, though there were a few other distinctly transportation crews in their matching jumpsuits labeled with company names.   

Rey watched the barkeeper with great interest as he continued to ignore her. Luke had told her that Force persuasion had only worked on weak minds. She was frustrated by that side effect, but as she continued to watch him she was not surprised that he had resisted her. Every species and creature which walked into the tavern looked at him and nodded with respect. The same sort of respect and reverence which Rey had seen people given General Organa.

Every once and a while there would be a small heated exchange of words, but with a narrowing of his red eyes the man behind the bar seemed to quiet them down like a skilled teacher over a well taught class. A few local children would run behind the bar into the back and come back covered with small lizards wrapped around their shoulders. There was a strange quietness to this place, a calm in the wilderness as if they had landed somewhere in the outer reaches of the universe where the darkness of the Empire or the First Order had never touched.

Rey’s rumination’s were broken by the familiar sounds of Poe and Finn coming into the tavern.

“Oh sorry about my husband.” Poe said with a silly grin on his face as they knocked into a small Rodian woman. “He’s such a klutz.”

“No sorry about _my_ husband.” Finn said with a grin. “He loves to over share.” He said to the woman who scampered off as they sat down at a table and waved over Jess and Rey.

“Well, _my_ husband didn’t help at all in managing to negotiate down a lower price.” Poe said through gritted teeth.

“Well, _my_ husband didn’t make it clear that that was what we were doing.” Finn said as she shook his head, beginning to pull up maps on their data pads of the surround area

“Okay we get it boys.” Jessika said as she slapped her hand on the table.

 “So what kind of a speeder did you get?” Rey asked as she sat down at the table with them.

Poe rolled his eyes knowing that she would never be satisfied with their answer. “One large enough to successfully take us and a weeks’ worth of supplies in to the savannahs for a few days.” He replied briskly. “It’s sitting in a hold if you want to make any modifications before we go.” He added as he bent down over the maps.

The maps that they had managed to get access too largely showed property lines, making the vast differences between privately owned farms and the few nature preserves or areas with a high concentration of volatile wildlife. There was nothing on the map to mark any ruins or large X marking the Jedi temples. “We’ll have to ask some locals.” Finn whispered.

Jessika tilted her head in thought. “It’s not likely to be on private land is it?”

“It’s been a few thousand years; it might not be so easy to tell what it is.” Poe replied.

Rey thought back to the vision which she had had. “No. It was in ruins but it was still somewhat structurally sound.” She said softly as she looked at the map, hoping that they had at least landed on the right continent of the planet. It was likely they would have to buy a farm to touch down anywhere else on the planet, though she doubted a few of her companions wouldn’t mind that as much.

Poe looked up at her and sighed, his face illuminated by the map. “But you’re working on a vision that’s at least thirty years old.” He said as he shook his head.

Finn looked at him as if he was insane. “Nah, forty years.”

“Seriously.” Jessika deadpanned as she raised her eyebrow at both of them. “Fifty years, her vision likely happened _fifty_ years ago.”

Both men leaned back as they looked at her with wide eyes. “I am not going around and assuming anyone’s age.” Finn said with raised hands.

“She’s not even here.” Jess retorted as she referenced the General who they were both so scared of from half a galaxy away.

“But this is one of those things which I think she can feel. Like she knows when someone is talking about her. And I don’t want to get smacked upside the head because I thought she was ten years older than she really was.” Poe replied as he placed his hands on the table.

Jessika turned and looked at Rey. “Help me out, tell them that’s not how it works.” She said, but Rey was only half listening to their conversation.

The tavern was beginning to thin out as it turned late morning, and the Zabrak bartender was once again looking at her.  There was the faintest smile on his pale face as his eyes beckoned for her to follow him behind the rooster patterned curtain.

Rey stood, the chair scraping beneath her as she muttered. “That’s not how it works.” Jessika smiled at Poe and Finn childishly. “I’ll be back.” Rey breathed as she walked away from the table.

It seemed as if the world around her was quiet as she headed though the tavern, but as she looked around she just noticed how emptied out it now was. As the made her way to the bar she was reminded of another time of heading into the depth of a bar to have a conversation with another mysterious person. She was still worried as she made her way past the rooster printed curtains which lead back into the small kitchen behind the bar.

There was a droid working over a stove, but the barkeeper shooed it away as he turned and faced Rey.  “You’ve been trained.” He whispered as he looked up at her.

She nodded slowly. “How can you…tell?”

“Your presence.” He whispered. She blinked, easing her mind as she tried to feel at his presence. It was like water shaking around in a canteen. Gently ebbing and flowing but contained.  “It’s calmer, more settled, I haven’t come across anyone who has been trained in a long time.”

She blinked at him. “In a long time?” She echoed trying to grasp at his meaning.

He chuckled “I’m older than I look. I grew up during the Empire. During the time when people who could sense the Force were either killed, or trained to be inquisitors for the Emperor.”

She nodded, wanting to touch him to trying and get a better sense of his past. She still needed to touch people to see them clearly, unlike some people she knew who used their powers for darkness. “But not you?”

He looked down shaking his head. “My mother died to make sure that never happened, and she left me in the hands of those who were willing to do the same.” He replied in a strained voice, the memories flooding back to him. Many were happy memories, but there were dark ones as well.

Rey nodded wondering why she knew so many people with the same backstories. “What’s your name?”

“Everyone calls me Tony. Yours?”

“Rey.”

“Rey.” He said it softly to himself. He had seen hope rise and fall in the galaxy again and again. Once it had been a young man named Luke, this time it was a woman named Rey. “You’re not going to find what you are looking for on those maps.” He said wearily as he ran his hand across the short horns on top of his head.

“I know that.” Rey breathed as she looked at him, and she could feel her breath catching in the throat.  “Is that why you are here? Because of the temple ruins?”

The story of how he ended up on Dantooine was long and winding, the kind of a story meant to span years rather than minutes. He shook his head slightly as he looked at her. She was blinking at him, her eyes filled with shining hope and determination. “I’m here because….” He was here because it was one of the few paces on the edge of the galaxy which was safe for people like him. These slightly lawless planets where people kept their heads down and didn’t ask questions. Dantooine had once been a planet of status, but most people who lived on it now did know about the dignified place it once was. “Because it’s a place to be, a place where I was able to make my own home, and there happens to be ruins of an old Jedi temple here.”

“Have you been to them?” Rey asked him

“It’s been many years.” He added in a whisper. “Why did you come here, why now?”

Rey paused, she trusted him and yet she was still apprehensive. “Has anyone else asked you about the ruins?” She couldn’t have been the only person in the galaxy to know of their existance, especially if there were so many historical battles which had once happened on Dantooine.

“Not in two decades or more.”

Rey shifted, settling into a sense of relief. “Where are they?” She asked briskly.

He laughed, amused by her candor and shrewdness. “North about a day journey away.” He searched around the kitchen looking for something. He grabbed a piece of cloth and quickly drew something on it with the pen tucked into his apron. Rey watched him in surprise, she hadn’t seen people use pens to write with very much in her life, she herself was incapable of writing by hand. Tony handed her the cloth with the strange symbol on it. “Here, keep it on you and it will protect you from the Kath Hounds, they own most of that territory now.”

She took it, unsure of just how it would do that. “Any more advice?” She asked ready to turn and tell the others and begin a plan.

A large smile formed on his face as the words came to the forefront of his mind; as be became overwhelmed at the possibility of passing on something which meant so much to him to the next generation. “Make brave and heroic decisions.” He said proudly. Rey nodded muttering her thanks and left the kitchen.

She made her way back to the others who were sitting around the table, leaning over the Data pads and having an argument in hushed conversations.

“No, no, no. We have to head up over the eastern ridge if we want to avoid that settlement.” Finn was saying as he pointed to the map with a hard gesture, the pressure of his finger warming the image silly as Poe placed his hands on his temples shaking his head as he looked at his boyfriend.

“We can’t do that, the woman at the speeder place said that that area is all swampland and hard to maneuver.” He hissed

“Speeders don’t drive on the swamp land.” Finn said looking at him as if he was an idiot.

Poe rolled his eyes. “And how many tactical missions have you planned?”

Finn puffed himself up proudly. “I went into Starkiller Base and disabled the shields.”

He laughed, “You yourself admitted that you had no plans when you landed on the base, and someone disabled those smiled for you.”

“Hey love birds.” Jessika said loudly. “She’s coming back.”

They all turned and watched as Rey came back towards the table, a dull expression on her face as she clutched the small scrap of fabric in her hands. She looked down at it, her fingers tracing across the pattern which had been drawn on it. With each pass of her thumb it felt warm under her skin she could feel the power which emanated from it. It was strange, she never had come across anything like this before. The Force being used for protection, she wondered if it was a very old use of such powers.

She was aware that they were all looking at her, that they wanted an explanation of why she had run off. She could feel their slight trepidation towards her, the slight fear they had of the powers that she had possessed. Both Finn and Poe had seen only what the dark side of the Force was capable of, and they were afraid that she was going to unleash and lose control of her powers like Kylo Ren had. Jessika was afraid as well, but she was afraid of losing her, of the woman whom she saw walking towards her in the Merciful Vornskr changing into the type of mystical Knight which she had only read about in story books.

Rey sat down at the table, stashing the scrap of fabric into her pockets as she looked up at them and attempted to give them a reassuring smile. “Kriff, what was that about?” Finn asked, she stiffened a laugh, she could always count on his bluntness in any situation the sudden freedom speech which he was experiencing being most effusive in his lack of personal filter.

“He just wanted to know what we were up to.” Rey muttered, not trying to convince them of the lie through any extra means. Poe opened his mouth about to mention something about how the was the leader on this mission before Jessika cut in nodding with understanding.

“I’ve been watching him all morning, he seemed to be the authority in this part of the world.” Jessika added, and both men relaxed into their seats satisfied with her answer.

“What did you tell him?” Poe said crossing his arms against his chest.

“That we were here for supplies, but that we were also on the lookout for any old historical artifacts.” Rey replied.

“What did he say.”

She leaned forward on the map, looking at them for a moment as she processed the information which the innkeeper had given her with the topography ahead of her. “Here.” She pointed at a region of empty land. “It should be around here.”

Poe turned and glanced over at the Zabrak, from appearance alone the man was terrifying enough. But there was a kindness in his faint red eyes as he looked at the small group and nodded, as if condoning their rebellious activity almost wishing that he could join them himself. “You trust him; he isn’t some sort of spy?”

Rey nodded as she looked at Poe. It wasn’t worth the time expressing to them how this Zabrak who had somehow ended up on Dantooine was a kindred spirit. Clearly he had spent much of his life seeking both protection and solitude from the same powers that she had. Maybe he could be an ally who she could bring back to the base with her, who could teach her along with Luke, but those were ponderings for another time.

“We should get some supplies; it should be about a day’s journey by speeder.” Rey said as she looked around the emptying out Tavern. She wanted to see the planet which was beyond these walls, she wanted to explore every planet that she could now that she knew there was more to the galaxy other than tan dessert and sand.

She looked down at Jessika and took her by the hand, “Come on.” She said as she pulled her up out of her chair. Jessika looked at her, surprised yet amused at the same time by her courage. “Let’s go and explore.” She said with wide eyes.


	6. Chapter Six

She was beginning to get the sense that every far rim outpost town always seemed to contain the same basic outline. It was almost comical, as if it was a set dressing being reused over and over again just painted in slightly different colors. It made sense to Jessika, they were all things which were needed in living in places like this but still to her these standard taverns and slightly backdoor supplies shapes where nothing to gawk at, whereas Rey on the other hand…

“Jess, Jess.” Rey called out as she pulled her over to yet another case to point at something shinny within it. Jessika rolled her eyes, it was amusing but she was acting like a child and it would get them attention.

“ _Names dear_.” Jessika hissed as she rolled her eyes looking at the case which Rey had pulled her over to. It was filled with a small collection of plates. Plates, Jessika rolled her eyes trying to remember herself that Rey had grown up scavenging for everything that she possibly could.

“Sorry.” Rey said as she looked down at the collection. There were a few dozen different styles, some that were entirely plain and others that were painted with intricate designs of flowers or droids depicted in scenes of work. Jess watched as Rey looked down at them and smiled. “They’re pretty aren’t they. I like that one.” She said as she pointed to the glass at a plate which was blue and patterned with a small triangular designs.

Jessika noticed the familiar pattern which she had seen in nearly almost every other space port she had been through in her life. Likely mass produced somewhere in the core and then shipped off to sell at a ridiculous markup to people who wanted a little bit of the glitz and glamor of the life within the finer systems of the galaxy.

“It’s very nice dear.” Jessika muttered as she noticed the proprietor of the shop coming over. A hunched over red eyed green skinned Durosian man who looked at them with a serious underestimating of their skills.

“Fifteen credits.” He drawled on in a thick accent. “But for you pretty ladies ten.”

Rey shook her head, as she removed her forlorn gaze from the case and pulled out a small Data pad out of her side pack, Jess saw the small flash of silver that was her lightsaber but noticed how she didn’t let the man behind the counter see it. Jessika was unsure of weather that was strategy or poor planning on her part.  

Rey began to read a list of supplies which they needed, cables, a few spare parts, an extra med kit. Nothing which seemed to suggest tomb raiding but still a rather large amount of supplies none the less.

“Restocking the farm?” He chuckled as he looked at them both over the tall pile of supplies which were mounting on top of a small carrier crate. Neither of them said anything. “Sure you can manage that ladies?” He said in a continuing tone as he looked at them.

Rey stepped forward, placing her arms around the base of the large crate and lifting it easily with a cheerily proud smile on her face. “See you outside.” She called out to Jessika as she walked off with the pounds of supplies.

Jessika reached into her back, pulling out a small bag full of credit chips as she looked at the man who was looking at them sourly. “Right behind you.” She said as she measured out the credit chips and placed them on the counter. “And one of those blue plates.” She said softly as she pointed to the one that Rey had been admiring.

He grunted as he reached down and pulled it out of the case placing it on the counter. “Fifteen credits.” He hissed.

She placed down a five credit chip. “I know that you get them from the Hutts for one.” She said as she firmly grasped it “Enjoy the profit.”

The wind whirled around her as she stepped outside to see Rey sitting in the speeder looking up at the darkening sky. The hours of light here were short, a symptom which befell many planets which ran to a galactic standard time. Jessika got into the speeder, Rey not saying anything in recognition as she looked up at the sky.

Jessika tilted her head and looked up at the thousands of prices of light, so many stars were doing the sky that she couldn’t even tell which ones were the familiar constellations anymore. Two pale moons were rising in the distance. “It’s beautiful.” Jessika said as she looked up.

Rey smiled. “Yes it is.”

“Here.” She breathed as she handed over her the plate, a warmth spreading over her as she down at it. Things like plates had always been something which she had never had growing up. She had used spare parts that were of no reuse value in any way.

“J…” She stopped herself from saying the other women’s name. “Thank you.” She breathed as she leaned over and kissed her swiftly not knowing any other way to express her gratitude. They separate both turning to look up at the stars and the dual moons once more before powering up the speeder and heading back to the Tavern where reality awaited them.

**

There was a hand running up and down her back, tracing along the curvature of her spine. The touch of someone else was comforting in the chilly morning air as Rey opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the other woman. Jessika looked at her serenely, not a smile on her face but rather an expression of contentment as she looked at the woman who was alongside her warming the bed on such a cold morning.

They had climbed into the bed together after the end of another long night spent talking and planning with Finn and Poe. The two had insisted on laying out everything that they would possibly need for their mission before calling it a night. They had spent many hours carefully packing the speeder and the shuttle before trading back to the tavern in the darkness.

There hadn’t been many words as the climbed into the bed together, their limbs gently touching as they had shifted into comfortable positions before rapidly falling asleep. Now they looked at one another in the light of the morning there faces gently pressed against the sheets.

“Hey” Jessika breathed, her hand was still on Rey’s back moving up and down with each passing breath.

“Hi.” Rey breathed as she looked at her. Jessika smiled. “What?”

She laughed as she reached out and ran her fingers against her soft chest. “Nothing just…” She scooted closer to her in the bed closing the distance between them. “I wish we could go back to sleep.” She breathed.

Rey felt similarly but she didn’t know how to express it either. Sitting here in the bed which was being warmed by their own bodies was comforting. There was a sense of home, of safety as they looked into one another’s eyes.

Their hands reached out, fingers entwined as they looked into one another’s brown eyes. “It’ll be all right.” Rey whispered as she sensed the other woman apprehension about the mission.

“Really?” Jessika scoffed.

Rey paused, knowing that the feeling which was dwelling in the uneasy pit of her stomach was not an assurance. She shook her head as she looked at Jessika, wishing that she could tell her everything would be alright, but she wasn’t willing to lie to her.

“Then let’s not…” The words on her lip dissipated as Jessika moved closer to her. Her hand split away from Rey’s, trailing instead down the curvature of her body. Jessika surprisingly smooth hand was trailing down her lip, running up and down her thigh feelings the firm muscles of her thighs. Rey could feel her breath catching in her throat as Jessika hands slipped underneath her pants.

A small gasp escaped her throat as she felt the cool fingers against her skin. “Don’t…. don’t we have to leave soon?” Rey hissed as she looked into Jessika focused gaze.

Her head shook as she pulled herself closer “We have time.” She replied her voice dripping with breathlessness. Jess’s fingers trailed down in between Rey’s thighs as they found the small patch of hair. Her fingers slipped down deeper until they found the split of her vagina. Her fingers warmed as they gently began to circle around, becoming wet as Jessika hand familiarized itself with the new territory.

Her fingers moved upwards towards the top of her clitoris gently circling and pressing deeper and deeper as she looked up into Rey’s eyes which had rolled backwards. Jess smiled as her fingers gently pinched a small portion of the other woman. Rey’s eyes widened with surprise, shivering as the small tinge of discomfort which quickly turned to pleasure as Jessika slowly began to pull back her pinched fingers releasing the skin which she had grabbed, her nails gently digging as Rey waited the final spark of sensation.

“Uhhhh.” A guttural sound fell out of her mouth as Rey’s surprised expression turned into a smile.

“You don’t have to be quiet.” Jessika whispered into her ear.

Rey shook her head, being quiet was adding to the sensuality of it. Keeping the sounds from escaping her mouth as Jessika’s fingers began circling her clit once more. She continued rubbing in circles, fast and slow, hard and gentle as Rey could feel the tension rising up within her. It was becoming almost overpowering as her hand reached up to tug on to her own hair as the sound caught in her throat once more.

She was tingling all over, her body electric as Jess once more pinched at her again. Her head turned and she looked into Jessika’s eyes. She tilted her head, moving to kiss her as Jessika slowly released her. Their lips broke apart as Rey’s head fell back against the pillow.

Her body almost didn’t feel like her own. It was light and airy, weightless as if she was floating among the stars. Nothing hurt and all she could feel was joy as a large childish grin fell across her face and her breathing slowly returned to normal.

She twisted her head to look at Jessika who was slowly pulling her hand out of Rey’s pants. “That was…” Rey began as she looked at her.

“You’re welcome.” Jessika breathed as she leaned in to kiss her gently once more before standing up so she could dress.

**

Every new smell hit Finns nose with a strong assault as they hovered over the countryside racing across in the early hours of the morning following only the small navigation readout on the dash ahead of them and the dark grey outline of the speeder which flew ahead of them. How they had managed to lose the coin toss to take the speeder rather than the shutter craft he didn’t know. He had blamed Rey and her use of the Force but part of him what glad that he didn’t have to help pilot a strange ship in the low atmosphere.

At least here in the speeder they could talk, unimpeded and uninterrupted except from the occasional beeps of BB-8 who required attention from time to time. It was pleasant as they made their way through the green and golden hills which covered the planet of Dantooine. Occasionally they would see the dark shadow of swampland lands or turn and see a colorful meadow just visible beyond the crest of the hillsides. There was a beauty in every planet in the galaxy, Finn was beginning to see that now as they made their way through Dantooine.

“Eck.” Poe called out beside him as he gave a small cough spitting something black into his hands. “I just swallowed a bug.” He said vehemently with a small shiver. “This is why I hate speeders.” He muttered.

Finn laughed as he looked at him, shivering and acting as if it was much worse than it really was. It was nice for them both to have this moment all alone Hal way across the galaxy where they could pretend for just a moment that they were somebody else.

“Phantom One to Phantom Two.” Came the short clipped voice of Jessika over the communication system. “Come in.”

Poe reached down and pressed the small button on the dash. Rey had rigged up a secure communications system between the world crafts so that they could talk freely without being overheard by any local channels.  “Loud and clear Jess, what do you want?”

“We got about an hour left of daylight.” Came the disembodied voice once more. “I don’t figure that you want to navigate much in the darkness so we’re suggest making camp for the night and continuing on again tomorrow.”

Poe looked at Finn and shrugged, it didn’t matter to him how much longer this trip managed to take. “That’s good with us, any suggestions.

Rey came on over the communications. “There is a swamp about three clicks North West I should provide us with adequate cover.

“All right. We’ll follow you.” Poe replied as the line cracked dead as he watched over head to see the shuttle move past them. He gave another small shiver as he muttered the word “Swamps.” Under his breath.

“Got a problem with swamps too?” Finn laughed as he leaned back and looked at the other man.

Poe rolled his eyes. “There were a lot of swamps back on Yavin 4 where I grew up. As kids we used to try and challenge one another to wade through them and the such without getting caught by anything.” He bent down and rolled up the pants of his legs, showing Finn the splotches of scar which the other man had noticed but not said anything about before. “I was a rather small kid who had delusions of being larger than I really was. I got caught quite a bit.” He chuckled as he let down his pants.

He said nothing else as they made their way towards the dark swamp which bordered along a small collection of hills. There was the sound of constant rushing water trailing down a dozen small streams and creeks into the still swampland. Insects buzzed and hummed, visible in the paling light like specks of dust as they set up two tents with quick efficiency. Moss hung down from the trees, dripping into the water and trailing onto the ground. There was the croaking of a dozen different species and the occasional splashing of water as something was pulled under.

They sat with their backs to the swamp, gathered around a small fire looking out over the ridge and to the green valley beyond as the sun lowered and the two moons of Dantooine began to rise behind them. 

“It’s not exactly like the climate controlled rooms back on the base, but it will do.” Jessika said as she sat down around the fire passing them each a small tin plate filled with dinner. The exception of course was Rey, who was eating proudly off of the blue one which Jessika had bought her the day before. Both of them men had eyed it with suspicion but neither of them commented.

“Anything is better than a small bunk which you can barely stretch out on.” Finn said under his breath as he looked up at the stars dotting the velvety sky above them.

Poe looked down, suddenly shamefaced about the large room which he had as a child, filled with toys and two parents who loved him. “Was that really what you had?” He asked sadly.

 Finn reached out and clapped him on the back. “It’s not your fault, mate. Do I wish I had your life, sometimes? But I can’t change the past?” He smiled largely and turned to Jessika. “Did you grow up in a mansion as well?” He joked as he looked at her audaciously.

Jessika smiled. “I don’t think that it was anywhere as near lavish as the captain but it wasn’t _bad_.” She chuckled as she thought of her home land. “It was Hutt controlled space, and there were some old sectors which were forbidden due to some failed empire science experiments.”

“Empire science experiments?” Finn asked curiously.

She looked at him and nodded. “Do you know what a Death Trooper is?”

Finn nodded with wide eyes, assuming they had only been myths but Poe looked at her confused. “What’s a Death Trooper?” Poe asked, curious.

Jessika leaned into Rey and sighed, she had already told this story one in the past week, but saying it aloud never seem to make the horrors any easier to deal with. “A while ago, before any of us were born, there were some Strom Troopers who somehow got infected with a plague like sickness. It swept through whole battalion in days and they died. But they didn’t die.” She paused as they watched her speak enraptured by what she had to say. “They came back to life, cannibals who were relentless and half rotting. Knowing that they had an epidemic on their hands that could wipe out half the galaxy the empire quarantined them on outer rim planets. How, I don’t know, but I grew up on one of those planets.”

“Did you ever see one?” Finn asked in a small whisper.

Jessika nodded. “Despite best efforts there were still issues from time to time. When I was eleven one got out and came to the village which I was living in. You should have seen the army that tried to take it down, it was as if every hired hand on the planet came running in a matter of moments. I stayed locked up in my house, my father kept telling me to get away from the window, but I still looked as it walked by, silently and slowly. It didn’t have a helmet, but it didn’t have a whole head either. There was no nose, no hair, no skin like it had all been clawed away at. It’s armor as covered in blast marks and I was red. I backed away in horror, I didn’t see how they captured or destroyed it I just know that they did.”

She stopped, reaching down to her plate to place a piece of bread in her mouth swiftly. “You’re not just telling a ghost story to pull our legs are you?” Poe breathed

She shook her head. “There are dark things in the universe, darker than that likely.”

Finn shivered as he turned and looked at Rey. “Well what about you, how horrific was your life of Jakku, did you live under an awning begging for scraps your whole life.”

She shook her head. “No I lived in the leg of an AT-AT.”

“You what?” They all looked at her surprised.

She shrugged thinking nothing of it other than the fact that it was her life. That was what happen on planets with little resources, things got reused in interesting manners.

“When I was old enough to live on my own” She said beginning to tell the tale. “I wanted to live somewhere close to where I had been dropped off, and there was an old AT-AT near it. It seemed barren, but there was plant life around it and it got some water so I live in its leg for nearly ten years.”

“Why not the body?” Poe asked

To her it had been a logical decision. “The body was riddled with holes and blast points; it didn’t provide much shelter.”

“You said that you were waiting for your family,” Finn began as he looked at her. “Do you remember them?”

Rey looked down at her feet shaking her head as her face reddened. “I only remember Jakku.” She breathed.

Jessika took her hand reassuringly “Well how old were you when you were left there?”

“Five.” At least she thought she had been five.

“You should remember then. Right?” Jessika looked at the others.

Poe nodded. “I mean you should have some memories of that time in your life, at least one or two.”

Rey shook her head. “I’ve tried to remember. My first memory is watching a ship disappear and screaming ‘no, please don’t go, don’t leave me.’” And she only remembered that now after she had the vision at Maz’s place. “I don’t even know who I was talking to.” She said her voice trembling.

“Someone must have altered your memories then.” Finn replied and she shrugged not having any more answers for them. The very idea of someone messing with her memoires felt like an invasion to her, but there was nothing she could do about the past any more. Rey knew that she needed to let it go. Clutching onto the idea that someone would come back for her, it was foolish and childish one of the few lies she had ever told herself about the world that she lived in.

Poe pulled a small bottle of some sweet alcoholic liquid out of his pack and began passing it around as they looked up at the darkening sky. “When I was a kid I wanted to live in the stars.” He murmured softly.

Jessika smiled as she tried to imagine Poe as a child. “Like in a space ship?” She asked as she reached for Rey’s hand the women’s fingers interlocking.

“No.” He laughed “I wanted to live in a house that floated in space…. I don’t really think that is possible.”

“No, I don’t think it is.” Finn laughed as well as he ran a hand through the other man’s hair. “What about you?” He looked at Jessika.

As a child she had wanted to live in a big city in the core, where the sounds of life never stopped. Where there was always something to see, something to do. “Some fancy planet like Coruscant or Corellia.” She replied. “But now… now that I’m older. I want to live somewhere that hasn’t seen war… but I don’t think such a place exists.” She passed the bottle to Rey. “What about you, surely you had to think about somewhere other than Jakku.”

Rey gave a small nod, her day dreams as a child had been filled with the dreaming of the planets which her family would have brought her back to. The planets whose names she held onto as she imagined what they looked like. The images which she saw on the holonet of exotic places like Mandalore or Naboo. “I used to imagine forests, oceans, water. There was always water.” She imagined. 

“Kamino?” Poe said as he looked at Jessika. “Isn’t that all water, that planet?”

Jessika nodded, “Yeah there are more than a few water planets.” She looked up at Rey who was looking at her so hopefully, and somehow that hope seemed to break her heart. It didn’t seem fair that a five-year-old girl had been placed on a planet, her memories of the life she had led before all gone. All she could wish for was that Rey had been sent to Jakku for a good reason. “Maybe one day you’ll see it.” She said as she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

Rey reached out and wiped away the tear. “Why are you crying?” Rey breathed as she looked at Jessika kindly.

“It’s not fair, the life that you’ve had.” Jess replied. “I can’t stop thinking about you, all alone and abandoned on some strange planet”

“It’s in the past, you don’t have to worry about it.” Rey said, trying to convince herself of those words as she said them.

But Jessika shook her head. “But there had to be some reason, it had to be important for you to be left all alone.  Don’t you… what if you were hidden?”

“Hidden?” Rey breathed as she looked at her.

Poe shifted as he looked at her. “It wouldn’t be the first time.” He began, “The General and her brother, they were separated at birth and hidden from their father.”

Rey looked at him, shaking her head. Even in her wildest dreams her situation was nothing like that. “And who would I have been hidden from?” She asked. “It’s not like that….” She paused thinking about what Maz had told her, that her family was neve coming back. Even if she learned who she really was, she was never going to see them again.

She stood up, her head filling with a dozen possibilities which she didn’t want to consider as she looked down at her companions sitting around the fire. Her whole life she had told herself that she wasn’t important until the day she learned that she really was. And yet she kept her expectations so low, never letting hope fill her heart even though she was supposed to be the next hope for the galaxy herself.

She walked away from the swamps, standing along the small ridge looking down at the moons casting pale blueish light down onto the valley of flowers. In the distance she could hear birds crying out as if asking one another what the weather would be like the following day as she wind surged, chilling her skin.

She wasn’t any one important, she had told herself that long enough that she believed it. Even though she had seen what she was capable of, she still clung onto those words, _I’m no one_.

“Rey.” She turned to look at Finn who was walking towards her only illuminated from the small light that came from the droid next to him.

“You don’t have to apologize for them.” She replied as she sat down looking up at the stars. They weren’t too different from the ones that she used to look up at one Jakku through the visor of the helmet she had found. “I wish I could say that I remember my mother’s face or the way my father used to hug me. But the truth is, I don’t know if they ever did. Maybe I never had parents who love me, maybe I never had the family that I image in my mind when I close my eyes. I wish I knew who dropped me off on that planet but I don’t.” She looked at Finn, her friend knowing that he would understand her longing for answers as well.

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it firmly. “Have you tried to remember.”

She nodded rapidly. “And it scares me that I can’t.” She added in a small voice.

“They took our memories too.” He replied. “Called it reconditioning, training our brains to remember things that they wanted us to. They took away all the happiness. All the day dreams of a life outside the Order,” he looked forlorn as he told it to her now. “All these emotions which I only have words for now that someone has taught them to me. It doesn’t help to remember who that solider was.”

“But what if its….”

“Important.” He suggested, and Rey nodded. “It’s only important in the fact that it is the foundation which brought you to this part of your life.”

Rey nodded as she looked out at the meadows. “I hope so.” She replied softly.

**

Jessika was quiet as they sat in the ship flying over the landscape of Dantooine. She would turn and look at Rey on occasion with the same tepid smiles which she had in those first few days in hyperspace. She wanted to apologize for dredging up the other woman’s past and making her think about that dissolute childhood. Jessika knew that hers had not been rosy either, but in comparison to being abandoned it did not equate.

“Rey.” She muttered as she watched the other woman, her hair still pulled back in those three buns her gloved hands running across the control board. They had kissed in this shuttle; they had been a part of one another for a moment. And now there was just silence between them. Rey was a thousand miles away, Jessika could see it in her eyes as she looked at the other woman, her mind was somewhere else as she flew the shuttle almost on autopilot.

“Have you ever been there?” The words slipped so gently out of her mouth that it took Jessika a moment before she realized that Rey had spoken to her.

“Where?” She asked, unsure of what she was thinking of. There were times when she wished that she could read the other woman’s mind as well. It would make it easier to understand her and her struggles.

“The core planets.” Rey said, biting at the bottom of her lip. “You said that when you were little you wanted to see them, have you now?”

She turned and looked at Jessika, her eyes were glazed over. Jessika shook her head. “I’ve never been all the way into the core, some of the planets on the inner rim. But it doesn’t matter so much anymore, there are planets here now in the outskirts which are just as built up as Corellia.” She paused and there were tears swimming in Rey’s eyes as she looked at her. Jess reached out and grasped her gloved hand. “What’s wrong?”

“What does it look like, Coruscant?” her voice was trembling as she asked her the question.

“Why are you asking?”

All she remembered was Jakku, but in her mind she had seen other places. She had seen the Seas of Ahch-To, she had seen forests of moons which she had later walked on herself. Sometimes in her mind, in her waking dreams and in her sleeping dreams she had seen a planet where the city was endless. We’re the skies were turned into a highway and where each level was a different world altogether, but all she remembered was Jakku.

Had she been there before, in the time and memories which had been taken from her memory? “Rey?” She asked her once more, grasping onto her hand to try and bring her back to the reality which was before her. “Talk to me…. please… even if it’s fighting…. I want to know about the world inside your head.”

Their eyes met and Rey wondered if she truly wanted to know, if anyone truly wanted to know the realities of her life. There had been starvation, there had been rash things done in order to survive. She had lives a life that was hard, and her life now wasn’t any less difficult even though she had people to provide and support for her. People looked upon her with marvelment, with pity, but she didn’t believe that anyone really wanted to know the things that she saw in her mind when she closed her eyes.

“Trust me…. Please…. Let me in.” Jessika whiskered.

Her eyes were so kind, so welcoming. She didn’t look at her with charity she looked at her with the love of someone who wanted to be included, who wanted to help her come to terms with the darkness of her life.

Rey nodded, speaking honestly wishing that Jessika would be able to handle the burden. “Sometimes I see world’s so vividly, so clearly… I don’t just see them I feel them. Every sensation, every emotion, and I don’t know if it is the past, present or future. I don’t know if it is my life or someone else’s. And these dreams… these visions they had lead me to islands in lost lakes and places like these. And sometimes I think about the pain and suffering I have seen, and I fear that it is not the past but rather the future. And I worry for everyone I know.”

Jessika nodded, her face composed as she contemplated a way to solve Rey’s problems for her. “Have you spoke to Luke about this?”

Rey nodded slowly. “He speaks in riddles looking at me with equivocation in his eyes. He says it’s the way the Force works, and offers me no real answers.” She said shaking her head in disappointment at her only choice of teacher in the universe.

“Then you should ask his sister, surely… If she can sense the Force too, then she must see things also.”

Rey turned and looked out the window of the shuttle looking at the planet below as she sighed. “Yeah.” She breathed to herself as she reattached down and pressed the communications button.  “Hey you guys have uh, some incoming wildlife you might want to pay attention to.”

Down below both Finn and Poe looked around both with their own eyes and the technology they had on hand. “I don’t see anything.” Poe replied casually as they continued on in the speeder. Alongside them the hills were beginning to narrow to the end of a long gorge which continued on further than either of them could see.

“It’s right ahead of you.” Rey replied sharply. “Can’t you….” She paused looking at Jessika helplessly. “Lower us down we can cut them off.” Rey said in response as she looked at the incoming herd of creatures which was running straight towards Finn and Poe.

Jessika gave her only wide eyes. “Jess!” She cried out.

“Rey.” She said in a soft whisper, remembering the conversation which they had just had and suddenly filling with fear as she realized that perhaps Rey was having another vision right before her. “There is nothing there.” Rey shook her head, not having the time to argue with her as panic for her friend’s lives filled every bone in her body.

She took over the controls of the shuttle, pulling them quickly towards the surface. The entire craft shook as she braked, as they approached the surface of the planet at an alarming rate. The shuttle leveled out a hundreds of feet ahead of the speeder which was carrying Finn and Poe towards the opening of a large gorge. They landed with a sharp thud and a loud bang, Rey already out of her seat before they had settled into the ground.

The door opened and Rey broke out into a run as she stood at the opening of a long white stone filled gorge, her head turning between the approaching speeder and where she was. She knew there was something to be seen. She could feel it, the greater force telling her that something was there, beyond what she could see.

“REY GET OUT OF THE WAY.” Jessika was yelling as she stood in the doorway of the shuttle watching her with wide eyes as the speeder approached.

She could hear Poe cursing as he moved to come to a stop, she could hear yelling as Rey looked down the gorge narrowing her eyes, knowing that she had seen something. It hadn’t just been an illusion it was real; she had felt it be real.

And then she heard through the calm of the planet, over the sounds of Jessika’s screams and the hum of the approaching speeder, Rey heard the sound of hundreds of hooves pounding upon the ground. She turned and looked at the oncoming herd in the distance frozen as she saw the dust cloud rise before the creatures. Then she turned away from the stampede and opened her mouth in a warning cry as she saw the eyes of the men sitting in the speeder widen.

Poe tugged at the controls, trying to stop the vehicle, but he overcorrected the speeders course. It accelerated towards the sides of the hills. A chorus of voices rang out ‘jump,’ as the speeder impacted into the side of the cliff, rocking the ground beneath them as Rey and Jessika looked on their mouths hanging open in horror.


	7. Chapter Seven

Rey looked up at the creature breathing down in front of her. Its dark eyes bearing down upon her from behind its red fur. She could see the hairs quivering in its long main as its hooved feet pawed at the ground below. The Kath hound was staring her down not yet pouncing as it growled its ears twitching as the herd behind waited on their leader. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Poe coming to his feet, singed and covered with mud as horror spread across his face.

“FINN!” He yelled as he began to run towards the wreckage with only one objective in his mind.

Jessika was still emerging from shuttle reaching to the blaster on her hip, breaking into a light run to join Rey as she aimed at the creature but did not fire.

“FINN.” Poe called out again as his eyes darted to find the other man who was conscious but struggling to escape the bent and aflame speeder.

Rey closed her eyes, drowning out the other man’s quivering wails.  She raised her hands calmly in surrender as she opened her eyes to look at the creature.

The Kath hound gave another growl and Rey nodded at the creature as if she understood what it was asking of her. She reached down to her hip with her right hand reached into her pocket for the talisman that the innkeeper had given her. Trying her best not to doubt it’s powers as she refused to listen to the wails of pain behind her; she held it up towards the striated eyes of the creature. The hound gave a small whimper and scattered away, leading the others in the pack away and leaving the gorge before them clear.

Rey breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Jessika lower her blaster back to her side and turn to run to the wreckage of the speeder behind them. “Is he alright?” Jessika asked as she rushed to Poe who was pulling Finn away from the blaze. She bent down offering another shoulder to prop the man up on as they hobbled away from the inevitable explosion.

They placed Finn down on a flat rock, his pant legs were barely scorched as Poe tore away at them, his hands becoming covered with the other man’s blood as he tried to remain calm looking at the large wound on his partner’s leg. “We need… we … um…”

“Bacta pack now.” Jessika snapped to Rey as she took control of the situation. Rey ran off to the shuttle to go and get one as the other woman pulled off her clean jacket and offered it as a bandage to stop the bleeding.

Finn, still conscious but biting his lip to keep from screaming in pain looked down at this cut up and burned leg. “I must be indestructible.” He murmured with a smile as he looked at Poe, reaching out to grasp his hand firmly.

The pair held their bloody and dirtied hands together. “I think you’re about to be nearly all scar tissue.” Poe laughed as he began to calm, knowing that the wound was bad but something that was manageable in the field.

Rey came running with the medical kit watching as BB-8 tried it’s best to salvage whatever cargo it could manage from the speeder. “Just leave it.” She yelled at the droid knowing that the cheap vehicle would explode momentarily and make their presence on the planet even more known. She was just hoping that no authorities would come and respond to something so far out in the middle of nowhere. They had been smart to take the two vehicles; she was glad for that foresight as her knees skidded into the ground swinging into the deep mud as she began to rifle through the medical bag with steady hands.

She pulled out one of the Bacta packs which was sitting on the top of the bag and handed it to Jess who opened it and placed it on Finns leg. He let out a small yelp as the supercharged bandage was placed across his leg, dispensing the medicine slowly to the affected area.  “I think that jacket may be cursed.” Jessika snapped as she looked up at the now singed jacket which Finn was wearing, the sleeves were covered in a sickly black oil and grey ash.

Finn leaned back, laughing as the pain dissipated in his body and he felt some relief. “Don’t do that…” Poe said as he leaned forward placing a hand behind the other man’s neck and pulling him toward to kiss him. “Ever again.” He added in a scornful voice. Finn laughed as he pulled away as Jessika silently continued healing his leg.

There was a loud sound as the speeder behind them exploded. They all winced their ears as the fire burned a bright orange as the speeder and the supplies which they had needed to stay out in the savanna went up in smoke. But they looked around at one another, none of them saying anything as they were comforted in the fact that they were relatively safe and still had a means of transportation out.

Rey stood up and looked at the clear gorge which lead through the valley towards the meadow. It was just like what she had seen in her visions, the white stone littered the walkway torn up and covered in overgrowth and beyond the crumbling center of the old temple. It was calling to her, she could fell it even now drawing her in like a moth towards a flame.

“You should stay here.” Rey said as she looked down at Finn and Poe, covered in red and black.

“And miss a Jedi temple?” Finn laughed as he gestured for Poe to help him stand up. Jess leaned back cleaning up the medical supplies “Not on your life.” He added.

Jessika laughed but she looked at Rey with seriousness on her face. “What was that thing you showed the hound?” She asked in a small whispered.

Rey pulled it out and handed it to her. “The innkeeper gave it to me, he said it would protect us.”

“Is he a Jedi?” Finn asked with hope in his voice. Rey shook her head. “Sith?”

She shook her head again, “He’s neither. He’s just… someone who offered to help.” They gave her slightly suspicious looks but she said nothing in return, if Rey the girl who had fought her whole life was willing to trust someone it was good enough for them.  

It took another five minutes before they had cleared up enough of the wreckage, careful to leave nothing behind that could be used to identify them. The rag tag group, now looking perhaps a little less heroic than they had when they had set off earlier in the morning from their camp began down the final stretch of their journey on foot.

Finn, greatly helped by Poe stood side by side behind Jessika. She was wearing the med kit on her back and it clanked against her with each step she took. Rey had taken the time to strap BB-8 into a small net and was wearing the droid high up on her back as its head swiveled around scanning the area around them. They looked at one another, giving one another a reassuring glance before they began to walk through the scattered stones which led to the fallen temple.

It was like her vision, the old parts of droids and other bits of technology crumbling to dust under her feet as she assessed the value of each of them silently in her head. She walked in silence listening intently for anything which could be a threat, anything which could affect their plan. She trying to keep her hands from shaking out of fear and apprehension. Yet she was relieved as well, comforted in the knowledge of those behind her who were willing to try and help her in her cause no matter what.

They continued on as the sun rose high above them, only the sounds the creatures which were keeping themselves at bay and the faint sounds of labored breathing as they walked over the uneven ground. The ground rose in a steep grade which Rey had not perceived in her vision as they crested the ridge seeing the mound of white stones now covered with the overgrown roots of many trees.

They stopped, catching their breath as they looked down at their destination with a small smile. Jessika checked the time, noting that it had taken nearly an hour for them to hike this far from where they had landed the shuttle. “One of us should wait in the shuttle, in case we need to make a quick exit.” She breathed.

Poe bobbed his head in agreement. “I’ll go.” He said as he gave Finn a quick kiss before he turned back and began to run through the gorge back to the ship. Jessika moved to help support him as Rey let BB-8 out of her pack, allowing the droid to glide ahead of them leaving a clean trail in its wake.

Her ears were buzzing as she approached the temple looking down at it feeling it call out to her, as if it was screaming out her name and her name alone. She had felt the Force before, but she had never so strongly felt it pulling on her like this. It was almost as if she had no control of her own actions, as if someone was willing her mind.

There was a smile on her face as she walked towards the temple, her feet moving effortlessly over the uneven ground, helping the companions behind her as she drew closer and closer to her goal. She didn’t know what she wound find here, but she knew that that in her heart she was hoping for answers that might not exist. But she didn’t think that she was going to be let down.

Her hands moved across the uneven stones as she reached closer to the mound which had once been a great temple. She had been telling herself for so long that if she had been born in a different time her life would have taken a different path, but she didn’t truly believe it now until she saw the shadow of the institution which she once may have been able to attend.

“Someone should stay outside as a lookout.” Jessika said, breaking the peaceful silence. Rey looked at her in agreement as they both looked at Finn.

“Sorry.” Rey said as she gestured to his leg.

He sighed as he looked around for some here to hide under suffice cover. “It’s all right.” He said as she lowered himself down and pulled out his communicator playing with the channels. “Can I have a bit of company?” He asked as he tilted his head to the droid.

“Sure, just let us know if there is any trouble.” Rey replied as she pulled into her back and pulled out a length of chord and preparing it so that she could repel down into the remains of the temple itself. Her hands moved up and down the chords as she tied herself off peering down into the opening and the darkness bellow. Wonders awaited her, of that she was sure. She lit a flare and threw it down the shaft. For a moment it was just like she was back on Jakku, when she climbed into Star Destroyers nearly every other day, but she couldn’t fool her brain effectively.

“Are you alright?” Jessika asked as she stood alongside her, peering down into the darkness which was illuminated by the singular red light which had been dropped down into the opening. Rey shook her head. She knew fear was supposed to be an emotion that she pushed aside, but she didn’t know how that was a reasonable thing to ask a person to do in a situation like this. Jess leaned over and kissed her gently. “We’re in this together.” She said as she let go. “Do you want me to go first?”

Rey shook her head once more as she took a step forward and looked down, she took a deep breath and then jumped.

The familiar sensation was a relief as she felt the cold air surrounding her as she fell into the darkness, gravity pushing her down rapidly as her gloved hands slid down the rope until her feet came thumping to the ground. There was another gentle thud as Jessika landed down beside her, but Rey wasn’t paying attention to the other woman as she looked around the floor of the temple. Embedded on the floor was the symbol which she had seen in her vision, the symbol which for so many thousands of years and signified the great force that was the Jedi. There was a light streaming in through hundreds of small cracks in the collapsed walls above they seemed to converge on top of the white stone floor, making every speck of dust glisten as unseen creatures stirred around them.

There was life here, there was the Force stronger than she had ever felt it. It wasn’t drawing her in, it was surrounding her and binding her to the very earth that she stepped on. She was part of it, part something far greater than she could have ever imagined as a little scavenger on Jakku.

Rey fell to her knees, closing her eyes as she imagined the power spreading through her life tree roots as she grounded down in this spot. Her body felt light, as she gently swayed in place opening up her mind as images and sensations began to flow through her. She was no longer in control of her own thoughts as she saw the history of this temple.

It had stood as a monument to peace and wellbeing in the days of the old Republic for so long people had come to the Jedi for advice, council, knowledge. But even thousands of years ago there had been conflict, there had been the dark side. The temple had nearly been destroyed, and then it had stood long enough to fade into obscurity. Then came the Clone Wars, and this time the planet was no so lucky. At first it had stood, it had been defended and the long out of use temple had remained, but then there came a time when there was no Jedi in the world, where there was no goodness and it had been destroyed, the relic of what had once stood and no longer did.

But there was still hope, still light. _“You feel it don’t you, the Force.”_ She heard the voice of the Padawan who walked away, speaking to the little girl who grew up into the General who had fought her whole life to restore peace once more to the galaxy. Even in the darkest of times, in the most forgotten about places in the world the light still managed to slip in through the cracks.

Rey opened her eyes, looking at the symbol which she was sitting upon. The similar outline of the symbol of the Resistance could not have been a mere coincidence. There was still hope, she herself was hope. Rey stood and looked at Jessika. “Let’s go.”

Her voice echoed out against all the stone in the large empty cavernous space which had been left. “Do you know what you are looking for?”

Rey looked at the passageways, wanting to voice her confidence yet she stopped herself as she reached into a pack and pulled out a flare. She lit it as she made her way over the dusty floor down one of the passageways not knowing what she would find but being elated in the possibilities before her.

**

He hadn’t realized that he had missed the comforts of solitude until he stepped back into the shuttle, sitting down in the chair with only his own thoughts and the soft hum of the console to rattle his ears. Poe couldn’t help himself from remember the night before when they had spoken about silly things under the cover of moonlight, as if the darkness of Dantooine was messing with their heads. Perhaps if they were different people some of those dreams could turn into reality. But they were the best pilots, the key to the opposition and the only hope which the Resistance had. He wanted to believe that when this war was won, when their side was victorious, that there would be a period of calm. They could live the rest of their lives without so much heroics and upheaval, that the cycle of good and evil wouldn’t begin again with them still trapped in the middle. But history was not on his side.

Just over an hour ago he had nearly lost his own life, he had almost lost Finn as well. “Kriff.” He chuckled to himself as he processed the information. Life was a fragile and delicate thing and yet he had never seemed to value it as much as he did now that he was with Finn.

That life, the life outside of the Resistance which they had almost always spoken about in joking tones; he knew it was something which was achievable. He had seen it with his own parents and his childhood on Yavin. He was beginning to imagine it for real in his own mind as well, it brought a small smile to his face as he imagined them both flying off in some ship seeing every sector of the galaxy until they were both grey and hobbled over. He had never wanted that before with the men or woman he had been with, it wasn’t just because they could die at any moment, it was more than that.

A faint beeping on the console brought him back to his senses as he looked out at the wreckage of the speeder which was still smoldering. He bent forward, looking at the readout. Two ships approaching on their location, he punched at the readout trying to get more information about the nature of the ships but he was being blocked from seeing their identification codes.

“Kriff.” He yelled loudly as he pulled at the controls springing the engine to life as he tapped hastily on his communicator. “We’ve got company.” He yelled at any member of his party who would possibly listen.

It was Finn who came in with a feeble reply, the signal from his communicator frustratingly weak. “Who?”

“I don’t know.” Poe replied as he took off pulling up hard away from the ground and setting in a course towards the Temple. “But they are coming in hot. I am en route to you be ready for extraction.”

“But you don’t…. weapons.” Finn replied before the communication systems were blocked by an unknown third party.

Poe knew he didn’t have any weapons on the shuttle, something which he now was realizing as a major oversight. This was a trap; no one would have been out here without any warning. “I can do this.” Poe said as he rose up above the hills, the temple ruins in his sight as he banked towards them. “Sssshhh…. I can’t do this.” He replied as he froze looking at the two First Order transports heading towards him. I was a trap.

One of the black ships opened fire as the other began its landing decent onto the temple. He swerved in an attempt to keep the ship from getting hit, but the shuttle had no shields. Regardless of his skills he was out numbered and the odds were against him. Poe strapped himself into the pilot’s chair, ready to eject at any moment as he swerved again trying to keep his thoughts on the dreams of yesterday.

The red blast of light came towards him and he knew the ship was hit, warning light flashed before his eyes as he gave one more sharp tug, the steering not wanting to follow his commands as he felt the ship die in his hands. Poe pulled the ejection lever, the roof blew out above him as he rose sharply into the cold air barely able to breath as he began to fall down towards the surface of Dantooine. He closed his eyes knowing there was nothing else he could do as impacted into the ground.

**

Every room was like a treasure to her. The old remnants of bedframes that real Jedi had once slept on, the small metal trinkets and outdated holocrons which she found sitting in chests crumbling with age. Jessika followed behind her, placing every item which Rey handed her into her bag not asking if it had any importance but knowing that could be answered later.

There was a sense of childish wonder as Rey walked through the lower levels of the Temple, ready to absorb the knowledgeable which this place contained. Jessika watched her with a smile, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking every now and then. “What are you looking for Rey?”

Answers, wasn’t the right word. She was looking for something else. She would know it when she saw it, or at least she hoped that she would. They made their way through the maze of rooms, the grand chamber coming once more again in sight before Rey paused.

Her head turned and she looked to the left, at a small opening which showed a room which they had not yet previously explored. Rey took the light from Jessika, shinning it into the crevice and illuminating the remains of the training room. She pushed her way into the room, raising a hand up to her mouth to keep herself from coughing as she stepped into the dust and debris filled room. It was nearly all dark, and yet from the small light in her hand she knew where she was going.

Rey walked over to the wall where there was a small work bench still covered with tools. “Hold up the light.” She said as she passed the torch over to Jessika. Her gloved hands moved up and down the wall, opening up panels to reveal nothing inside. It seemed strange to her that someone would leave the workbench covered with small stones and yet take the time to clean out of the containers around it.

“What is it?” Jessika asked.

Rey shook her head, not knowing how to explain it. All the kybur crystals were still there, but the simple components needed to make a lightsaber were not.

“Come in, come in.” Came the frantic voice of Finn over their comms. “We have a problem.”

“What?” Rey asked as she stepped away from the workbench.

“The First Order just flew in. Poe is on his way, but we all gotta be topside.” He added in a small whispered.

Both women looked at each other and nodded, knowing there was nothing else left for them here. “On our way.” Jessika replied as she set off at a run across the room back to the small opening and the ropes which they had left dangling down. Rey followed after her, turning the light of as they ran in darkness towards the small uneven sliver of light. “Kriff.” Jessika yelped as she placed her back again the wall and reached out in the darkness for Rey’s hand.

Through the small opening there was already the commotion of Stormtroopers moving through the dark corridors, the lights on top of their helmets shining brightly in the darkness as they searched with weapons at the ready.

“We’re screwed now.” Jessika breathed.

“No we’ll be alright.” Rey replied as a figure walked solemnly into view, a long brown cloak obscuring their face as they stood in the center of the meeting chamber and turned around in place surveying the ruins.

Rey watched from the shadows, Jessika still clinging onto her hands as the footsteps grew louder. For a moment she looked at the figure in the brown cloak hopefully, thinking it to be Luke Skywalker himself. _There was no threat, it was all a mistake, a misunderstanding_. She told herself these words even through she didn’t really believe them. This was no ally.

Two thin hands reached up and pulled down the brown hood as the fading auburn hair of the woman glistened in the scattered beams of light.

**

Poets eyes fluttered open as he let out one gasping breath to feel a cool gloved hand on his shoulders. He looked up seeing the white outline of a Stormtrooper armor. “Fffff..” He coughed hopefully as he looked up into the helmeted head of the trooper inspecting him.

“He’s alive.” The trooper called out in a mechanically filtered voice as Poe felt his body sink into the ground despair washing over him as he knew he was captured once more.

There were footsteps and the squeaks of boots as people moved by and the rim of a dark cloak entered in line of sight. “Good.” Finn looked up to see the familiar black and silver mask which still haunted his nightmares. “Place him on my ship.”  Kylo Ren said in his deep voice as Poe’s eyes closed once more.


	8. Chapter Eight

“Poe?” He breathed into his communicator as he looked up at the bright blue skies above him. Finn felt as if the sky should be turning to ashes as he watched the First Order ship landing, the soldiers filling out of them on command. “Poe?” He called out once more, his voice cracking desperately as he looked up and scanned the sky for another friendlier ship.

There was nothing above him except for the sky. The sky which seemed pristine and untouched. He closed his eyes pressing his back into the crumpled wall as he promised himself that he would not yet assume the worst. Poe was alive and someone was coming for them. At any moment he would see their ship on the horizon.

Finn took a breath, closing his eyes and counting to ten before he opened them once more and heard the sounds of the assault around him.

Heavy boots were marching in the distance, together and in unison. They were not spreading out in an attack formation. He sighed knowing that it meant that they did not know anyone else wasn’t here. The First Order had not arrived specifically for them, they just happened to have the worst timing in the whole world. He waited until the sounds had faded further and further away from where he was hiding before he pulled himself up and looked over the rim to see what was happening.

There was no more that fifteen Stormtroopers, a small elite squad by the looks of it. He had heard in this training about the different elite squads, this one looked almost scientific as they carried a large gravity platform and some heavy crates towards the large opening over the center of the ruins mound. He watched for as long as he dared, counting the soldiers and taking note of which ones had which types of weapons.

He leaned back down his heart racing as he looked up to the sky. There was another speck of darkness on the horizon. His heart rose as it came closer, wishing that it was Poe. But the pointed outline of the Order Shuttle became clearer as he saw the smoke of a wreckage begin to rise in the distance.

“Poe.” He breathed to himself as he tried to calm himself once again. He was still alive, he felt it, he believed it. But their chances of making it out of this unscathed and on their own terms were fading with every moment.

He reached for the gun at his side, checking the charge on the battery pack as he placed it in his hands and pushed himself upwards. The pain in his leg cut at him like ice as he placed his gun over the barrier and aimed. His finger rested on the trigger, ready to fire and then he hesitated.

There was a hooded figure approaching from the ship, wearing a dark brown cloak. They took slow and labored steps making their way to the gravity platform, face obscured as they stood with fie Stormtroopers and were lowered down to the depths below.

Finn pulled his blaster back down as he pressed at his communicator, “Come in, come in... We have a problem.”

“What?” Rey asked as flippantly, her voice expressing just how annoyed she was in being interrupted. He knew that foe her this was all an adventure, part of his wished that he could go down as well and see what she saw. But what had been a fun adventure into the unknown and now become a matter of life or capture.

He could still see the hood of the figure disappear as it lowered down into the Temple. He had never seen anything like it in all his life under the First Order. He had always known that there were many factions and other aspects of the organization which he was never privy too, but something about the presence of the figure going so commandingly into a temple set a chill down his spine. “The First Order just flew in. Poe is on his way, but we all gotta be topside.” He whispered not knowing what else to say to help them. It was a lie, but it was a lie which he needed in that moment to keep himself sane.

“On our way.” Jessika replied flatly.

He tried his best to feel relieved but that was nearly impossible. They were surrounded and another enemy ship was on its way. He looked down at the droid which was silently moving its head back and forth, not daring to make a sound. “We can get out of this right?” He asked the droid in a silent whisper. “We’ve gotten out of worse.” He tried to laugh but it was impossible.

Finn wished his leg wasn’t injured, he wished they had more men, he wished a thousand different things but none of them were going to change the circumstances that he was really in. “Can you take any of them down?” He asked the droid.

BB-8 opened up a small compartment as a small metal prong came out, jumping with electrical charge. “Better than nothing.” He said as he pushed himself up to survey the scene once more. He took a deep breath knowing that with another ship approaching, possibly with more reinforcements he couldn’t take out as many Stormtroopers as he wanted to. He looked at BB-8 indicating with his head that the droid was to go one way while he was to go another.

Finn took a deep breath, as he winced pulling himself up to a standing position as he reasoned how strange it was that he was now attacking those who he once considered to be his allies.

**

Jessika was pulling her away from the opening, frantically looking in the darkness to see it there were any other ways out of the training room. There had to be another door, it would have been a fatal design flaw it there was not. “Rey.” She was whispering so softly that her voice barely traveled more than a few inches from her lips as she tugged at her hand her nails digging into the other woman’s gloved hand.

But Rey was paying her little attention as she looked at the woman standing in the center of the fallen temple. She was looking around with a serene determination on her face as the troopers which accompanied her began to fan out. There was a cloud of uncertainty which hovered over this woman, an imbalance in her very soul.

The fortitude in her eyes was chilling. Her mouth fell open, soft melodic words escaping it, “Determine which passageways are stable.” She called out to the troopers as they fanned out.

As the Stormtroopers ran past, Rey could see the design of their helmets were different. They weren’t as sleek as the ones she had seen her whole life; the eye holes were positioned differently the black valves a different shape, and running down the top from the head to the neck of each battered helmet there was a dark red line.

“It’s here.” She said as her narrow face formed into a crooked smile. She moved slowly, the black outfit beneath her cloak revealing a wiry body. She was older that Rey had first assumed, old enough to have been alive in the time of the Empire and make a choice about which faction she fought for.                                             

Rey couldn’t seem to break herself away, even though Jessika was whimpering behind her. She could feel Jessika’s fear for both their lives, and she could feel this woman’s determination as she walked around the floor of the temple. She bent down, examining something on the floor she picked up the pile of dust in her pale hands looking at it wistfully.  She was in just as much awe of this place as Rey was, but it appeared to be for different reasons.

“Ma ’me.” Her head snapped up, the long braid of auburn and grey hair behind her hitting against her back like a rope. “This passage leads down into the depths.” Came the pinched voice of one of the Stormtroopers.

The robed woman stood and nodded as he followed him, walking rapidly. As she went by Rey could hear the object clicking against her side, as she saw the dark hilt of a weapon which the woman wore at her side.

Rey held her breath, the image of the dark lightsaber burning in her mind as she reached for her communicator. “Now, now, we have to go now.” Jessika was pushing her forward, but Rey was resisting her.

“Finn?” She breathed into the communicator.

“Not a good time.” He yelled back after a moments silence. “There is another…. Kriff.”

**

Poe gasped as he opened his eyes, seeing only black and white before him.

For a moment he wondered if this was what death felt like. The lack of color, the rushing sound of his own pulse deafening as he moved his head in a wild panic. Fear was filling his body as his surroundings slowly became clearer and clearer. He was surrounded by the white armor clad bodied of hostile Stormtroopers. They were standing in wait, as the ship around them jostled and moved up and down.

The black cloud was just above his head, taking shape in the form in the mask which haunted him. He looked up at the eyes hiding behind the chrome and metal framework, trying to not be afraid. Torture could hurt him, but it wouldn’t break him and the man standing over him knew that. He expected him to breath down, dark and menacing words, but Kylo Ren said nothing.

His head was swimming with pain, his whole body was stiff and sore in an excruciating manner but he looked down at his hands and saw that he was not bound. The last time they had bound and gagged him, they had beaten him to a pulp, but he was simply sitting at the side of the shuttle watching the Stormtroopers who stood eerily still as the shuttle landed.

He opened his mouth, a soft hiss escaping as he failed to form words to articulate the thoughts running through his mind at the moment. The door opened and he saw the world beyond, the white ruins of the temple that had once been such a peaceful place.

The Stormtroopers began to run out in their straight lines and he felt a small pang knowing that that was the life which Finn had once led. Escape was just a moment away. He tried to push himself down the ramp, but his body refused. It was demanding rest. A small sound of anguish escaped his mouth as he knew that he had failed.

He looked up at the masked man who was breathing down at him as if waiting for yet another witty remark to escape his lips. He looked at the face of Kylo Ren once more. There was nothing that he was going to tell him this time, no secrets that would escape his lips. He wouldn’t betray his friends, he wouldn’t allow his mind to be twisted and tortured. But the man before him did not try to enter his mind, he did not speak as all as he lowered his head his shoulders falling as if regretting the duty, he was being forced to perform. Then he turned, placing his lightsaber in his hand angrily as he stormed out of the shuttle and down to what had once again become a battlefield.

**

Finn walked slowly, doing his best to sneak behind the ample cover which the rubble and ruins provide him. He was still watching as the second ship came larger and larger into view. He was praying that it did not contain another fifty troops as he made his way over to the ten which were standing guard by the large hole down where the gravity platform had taken the hooded figure. He assumed he could take out at least five of them, at least that would provide him with something helpful until Poe flew in and saved the day. Yes, that was what Poe was going to do, fly in and fix everything like he always did. Finn kept telling himself that as he watched where we were walking, careful not to make a sound as he approached the first Stormtrooper and placed his blaster against the man’s back and fired.

The man fell to the ground, and he only had a moment to realize that he was wearing an old, out of service Empire era uniform before he turned and quickly shot the next one who turned and saw him. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as another Stormtrooper fell, and BB-8 gave a whistle of appreciation as he wheeled away to the next trooper.

“Hey!” Cried out the trooper, in a surprised voice as it noticed him.

“Kriff.” He yelled as ducked down the best he could, feeling something within him crack in pain as he avoided fire. At least these troopers likely didn’t know who he was, they weren’t yelling after him and calling him a traitor.

He gave a small thumb up to BB-8 as the droid let out a small tow cable wrapping it around the legs of two of the Stormtroopers and rolled away from them both causing a lot of noise and making them trip over one another. The droid was a needy and pesky unit at times but he was good in a fight as well.

Finn peaked out from behind his cover and set out another blast of fire taking down another Stormtrooper before he ran from one broken down pillar to another. There were just four left now, and he knew that he needed to get them down quickly before they were able to communicate to the troops down below that they were under attack.

He took a deep breath. Pulling himself up once more as he let out a low scream and sending off another round of fire. He watched as two more Stormtroopers fell down to the ground as he looked at the last two.

Half surprised that he was actually managing to do this on his own, he felt a sudden surge of accomplishment waving over him as he sent the last two troopers in his sights and aimed. They both fell down to the ground and he breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned back down, the pain in his body taking over every sensation as he heard the second First Order Ship begin to land.

He looked up, shaking his head in refusal as the gang way lowered down with a hiss.

“Finn.” A small female voice called out to him through his communicator.

“Not a good time…. There is another…” He paused as his stomach fell to a pit within him as he saw the figure pounding down the ramp. “Kriff.”

Kylo Ren appeared to be brooding as he made his way down the ramp of his ship, his large steps uneven and shaking the ground beneath him as he looked around at the sight of the temple and the fallen Stormtroopers. His black clothes billowed out behind him as he moved with his lightsaber in his hands, ready to release the weapon at any moment as his masked head moved from side to side.

Ren was flanked by his First Order Troopers who quickly moved and took the positions of those whom Finn had just taken out. They stood standing guard as he stood on the gravity platform and lowered down to the temple alone disappearing out of sight.

Finn pressed back, paralyzed in fear as he looked up to the sky hoping to see a sign of greatly needed help. There were only the translucent ribbons of smoke coming from the shuttle wreckage now streaking the bright blue horizon. Poe wasn’t coming.         

**

It was as if she couldn’t breathe anymore. Jessika was tugging on Rey’s arm begging the other woman to silently get away from this place and yet she would not move. Finn’s cursing over the comms could only mean that something worse was coming down to join them and Jessika didn’t want to see what it was.

“Rey.” She breathed into her ear gently “Please…..”

Rey didn’t know what to do. Her mind was swimming with thoughts and emotions. She was fighting against herself, mentally unsure of whether or not she should attack or flee.  They had been sent here in the vaguest of terms. There had been no clear objection other than see what was left. And yet as soon as she had stepped into the ruins she had been searching for something. She admitted it to herself now as she stood frozen. There was something she was seeking within the temple; she would know it when she saw it.

Yet she hadn’t imagined that they would encounter anyone else within the temple, she had assumed they would have hours rather than minutes and now as Jessika was pulling at her arms she saw the gravity platform lower down once more.

She inhaled sharply as she recognized the dark outline of the man lowering down into the pit of the temple. Kylo Ren appeared outwardly unharmed from her last encounter with him. His masked head looked around the temple peering at what surrounded him as the platform landed with a small thud.

Rey watched as he removed his helmet and she saw the large scar upon his face which she had made. It ran diagonally across the length of his face, blistered and uneven a silver line which made him seem more menacing. His helmet hit the dust of the temple floor with a hollow thud as he stepped forward.

There was a small smile as he looked around at the floor covered with fallen branches and leaves. He walked over them, cautiously watching his step as he approached the woman in the brown robe. There was something thrilling about being where he was not supposed to be. The trespassing upon the ground which was slowing being recalled to nature. When he was still and the echoes of his own footsteps resided, he could hear the stirring of creatures’ unseen. He could feel the subtle sensations of something possibly crawling up his leg as he stood still, for a moment becoming part of the ruins themselves. Until he focused on what was right in front of him.

The smile on his face subsided as he approached the woman, the tails of his long tunic billowing behind him as he fell to a knee. "Master." He called out in a small voice.

Rey shivered as her own footing suddenly felt unstable beneath her as the word echoed in her brain. Fear and curiosity were rooting her in her spot as she watched and listened.

The woman turned and looked at him. "There is no need for that" She replied in a smoky voice, indicating for him to rise to his feet.

"Can you feel it?" She asked. “The life that is hiding underneath our feet? Quivering and waiting for us to leave until it can spring into action once more. This place has been barren for decades and yet it still thrives. Even if it is a different sort of life that fills it now. It is still _holy_." She said the last word with a tinge of disgust in her voice. She was repulsed by the idea of such a holy place, and yet her apprentice was not.

"Master why are we here? The Jedi are dead." He was almost afraid of her. Rey could tell from his voice. There was a small treble, his face wasn't as bragging as it had been when he had interrogated her, there was the small shadow of doubt which he had when she had penetrated his mind.

She didn't say anything in response as she took a few steps forward and stopped. Sniffing the air and sensing the presence of this place. “Amara?" Ren called out the name and it echoed in Rey’s mind as she tried to determine if she had ever heard it before.

She turned and stared down at him furrow in her brows as if of questioning the courage which he had need to muster to call her by her name.  But the look of anger towards him dissipated as her face quickly fell forlorn as she turned to look up at the blue sky above.

"The _Force_ is not gone," She was whispered. Her hands pulling at the worn brown cloak she wore. "It is stronger than ever in places like these, still reminding us of the way things used to be. You remember don't you? What it was like when you were a child, when people spoke of the return of the Jedi as if it was greatest thing to happen to this universe.” A smile fell across her face. Not in reminiscing for that time, but for the words which she spoke next. “But it was my master who killed the Jedi and it is our job to continue that...initiative."

Vader, the word flashed through Rey’s mind as she looked at the woman, knowing that she had been the apprentice of Vader. Of the figure who Kylo Ren was trying so hard to copy, that he was afraid he would fail to do. She had studied under the masked man; she had been raised in his dark ways. She felt the Force but she did not channel the light.

He took a step forward his hand reaching out almost touching her and yet he hesitated in the action. "Tell me what are you are searching for... And I can help you." He was speaking like a child who was asking to help their parents, asking to do something which was far beyond their capabilities.

She turned and looked at him laughing, is if to suggest that there was no way in the world that he would be able to find what she was looking for. He was beneath her. She was the master and he was the apprentice. She was Snoke and he was just Kylo Ren.

She took a step forward so close to Rey and Jessica that both women gasped, not daring to breath any more.

"He promised it to me." Amara began as she rested her hand against the wall speaking of Vader. "He told me it would be mine one day. That he would kill my father and the weapon would belong to me. But the day came and went I never even saw it with my own eyes and he never did give me that lightsaber. It was a weapon for Jedi and I never was a Jedi." She reached her fingers near the opening which both women were standing behind and they slowly leaned back.

"Don't you feel it.... Ben?" She asked him spitting out the name which his mother had given him.

His eyes widened has he took another step towards. "It’s here?" he breathed confused. "The lightsaber of Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

She almost nodded in reply. "No." She took a step backwards away from Rey. "That's not true...” She shook her head, puzzlement on her face as she slowly bent down to the floor her hand resting upon the debris turning grey with the ash as she closed her eyes and felt the presences of those within the temple. "That's impossible." She raised her hand and pointed to where the women were standing in hiding.

He stepped forward his lightsaber drawn ready to attack the place that his master was indicating.  

"Stop." She called out to him, and he hesitated mid step as he looked at his master confused to her intention.  

Rey could feel Jessika breathing down her neck every inhalation filled with panic are they both knew there was nowhere else to go. They could hear the sounds in the boots of the storm troopers approaching from behind them. They were corned and escape was no longer a possibility. Their grasped hands squeezed at one another, giving them a small moment of comfort before they fell apart reaching for weapons as they prepared to fight.

The silence hung like thick fog in the air until it was cut by a buzzing hum as the red blade of the lightsaber tore through the wall slowly cutting away the barrier between the women and their advisories. With a wave of her hand, the Sith it the brown robe made the stone turn to dust at their feet, leaving them both exposed to the two dark ones before them as Stormtroopers ran up behind them.

Jessika turned with her blaster in her hand, shooting at one of the Stormtroopers behind her. It fell with a hard thud. She aimed again taking another shot and missing, as her blaster slipped out of her hand. Jess turned to look at Amara with her mouth open in shock as she watched the weapon dance into the woman’s hands. Feeling the cold hands of a Stormtroopers wrapping around her to restrain her.

Rey placed her fingers on the hilt of her lightsaber, ready to release the blades but something in the dark eyes of Kylo Ren told her that was the wrong move to make.

“So this is the girl….” Amara breathed as she looked at Rey. “The girl who bested you.”

“Master, she is strong with the Force-” He began in defense of himself, but Amara raised a hand silencing him as she looked at Rey.

Rey met the eyes of the other woman, “How did you know we were here?” She asked summoning the courage which could be her folly. “Did someone tell you… was it the innkeeper, or did you track us here?”

Amara shook her head, laughing almost as she looked at Rey. “Why are you here?”

Rey took a deep breath as she saw her own chest trembling in fear. “I had a vision of this place. I was in this place.” Rey looked up at her blinking, the vision of the apprentice of Anakin Sykwalker had brought her to the feet of the apprentice of Vader.

“But you have never been here before?” Amara breathed as she looked at Rey. She was almost impressed; as if considering for a moment to take Rey as an apprentice as cast her own aside.  Yet there was a deeper resentment as she looked at the young woman. And anger that she was here in this place, a disappointment that she had appeared to twist her plans.

“No, I wasn’t myself.” Rey breathed she could fell Amara trying to control her trying to see into her mind but she was refusing to let her in. “I was…. I was Leia Organa.”

“My mother.” Kylo Ren spat, stepping forward ready to lash out at her jealously yet Amara raised her hand to stop him. “Why is she seeing visions of my mother?” He asked his mentor in a high pitched voice.

The woman who ruled the First Order behind the image of the pale half man of General Snoke, reached out and placed a hand on Kylo Ren’s face in a sickly motherly fashion. “Because you failed.” She whispered as she looked into his eyes.

He knew what Amara was going to say next, he shook his head. Pleading with her silently, to change her mind about the command which she was going to give him. “She can be turned…she can be trained… she can be of use to us.” He pleaded as he looked at her stubbornly.

Amara looked at him and shook her head as she dropped her hand away from the face of Kylo Ren. She turned and walked back towards Rey, her eyes focused and her shoulders pushed back has she stood before her monumental.

She blinked as she once again tried to reach out to the mind of Rey. The younger woman stopped her, not even thinking about it as she refused the woman entrance into her own mind.

Their eyes met before Amara turned away, and she looked at Rey with a cold detachment as she quickly walked away leaving her apprentice and her guards behind. The brown clock bellowed out behind her as she crossed the old seal on the floor making her way to the gravity platform the only sounds her boots echoing with every footstep she made as she stood on the platform and looked at her student.

"Kill her and bring me her lightsaber." She said in a monotonous voice.

"Master?" His voice broke as he questioned her.

The platform was beginning to rise as her thin hands reached up and placed the hood over her head as she called out across the empty hall. “Kill her and your training will be completed and the path to Skywalker will be clear." She paused as the face of her apprentice twisted in his lack of understanding over the command. "He will not hesitate to seek you out to gain compensation for the death of his daughter."


	9. Chapter Nine

_Seven months previous_

Rey opened her eyes as she stood on the rock, the sound of the waves crashing against the island had becoming something which she had tuned into the background of her life, and yet sometimes the sounds rose up so high that it was all she could hear. In the moment she was doing her best to keep the buzzing and the crashing of the waves from driving her mad as she looked at the weapon in her hand.

Something was wrong with it. Just as certain she had felt when it called out to her, she was as sure of it now as she looked at the hilt of the lightsaber. Something was wrong with it, she whispered to herself as her fingers ran over the small black shield where the blade came out, at the old clip which was beginning to rust with the salt water.

It didn’t listen to her, it didn’t fell right in her hands. It had once, when she had grasped it out of the snow with her mind, it had felt like it had completed her then. But now all she could feel was discomfort as she tried to make the lightsaber follow her commands. She kept pausing in her training to look down at it. Silently cursing the weapon for not following the commands of her brain. Part of her was angry with herself. It was an irrational self-hate, but she knew that perhaps…. if she had started the Jedi training when she was younger she would be better at it now. Of course there was nothing Rey could do to change that, if she had started training when she was younger she would have likely been killed by Kylo Ren earlier.

“Rey.” She turned around, nearly losing her balance as she turned to look at the grizzled face of her tutor. She was holding the lightsaber in her hands, her knuckles nearly turning white as she grasped onto it. She hopped off the rock and walked towards him. “It’s not yours.” He gave a small frown.

She knew that. The weapon had never really been his either, it had been his father’s. She was just using it because it wasn’t as if there were many lightsabers left in the world these days. “I know that.” She stated as she moved to clip it back to her belt.

Luke reached out and took her wrist. “No I mean; it hasn’t won your allegiance.”

She frowned at him, he sighed and tilted his head indicating for her to follow him. She walked back up the hill to the small home which he had built for himself among the rocks. Rey saw the beauty of this island, it was impossible for her to not when it was so different from the world which she had grown up in. But she didn’t know why this was the planet which he had choose to hide away in other than the fact that it contained many islands for him to hide away in. It was as if it was some hermit’s tradition which he was taking part in.

The dwelling which they had shared for the past few months was modest, small and often cold on chilly nights he sat down on the stone floor placing the lightsaber which he had made for himself out before them both. She knew that it was part of the training, the final step towards becoming a Jedi Knight had once been the creation of one’s own lightsaber. She wondered if that was what he was going to speak to her on, but she said nothing as she waited for him to speak.

“The crystal inside.” He said as he let her hold his weapon. “It is synthetic.” Then he gestured to the weapon which she was using… “That one is not.”

Rey nodded. “Is that why it doesn’t always work for me.”

“Perhaps.” Luke replied. “There was a time when there were caves filled with crystals, sacred places that young Jedi would travel to obtain the crystal for their lightsaber. But many of those were destroyed, but some still exist.”

He looked down at her hand which were holding both weapons in her hands. “You can use a synthetic one as I did, I can show you how to make one- “

“No.” She interrupted him. She looked up at him biting her lip, he didn’t like it when she talked back at him. Perhaps it was sending all these years alone, he had forgotten that sometimes people simply snapped. “I…. I think there is one out there for me…. I can… this will sound strange but I can sense it….” She looked at him smiling sheepishly.

He nodded slowly. “Yoda.” He paused as he remembered the creature who had taught him. “He told me of the caves, of the trials that younglings once committed to find their crystals.”

“Did he mention where it was?”

 He looked down at his hands. “Rey.” He breathed her name with the slightest hint of condensation as if she was supposed to know about the history he would tell her. Sometimes she wanted to yell at him and insists that I wasn’t her fault that she had been left to fend for herself with no formal education. “Many of those planets were destroyed or…”

“But I sense it, I know it’s out there.” She cut him off stubbornly.

He reached out and took her hands. It always surprised him how cracked and blistered her hands were, she was so young and yet she was so much stronger than he ever was at her age. Luke had whined and complained about how things never went his way, she was just grateful that she wasn’t alone anymore. “He showed me once, told me where the planet was. I’ll show you now.”

The images of an icy cave on a cold planet, of the both frantic and tranquil search for a small crystal which was smaller than her thumb. The small little green creature with large years jumping across chasms in search of a small green crystal. A strange human like droid instructing the younglings in creating their sabers from a large library of parts.

“Then go, find it the planet of Ilum, take R2-D2 with you he has been there before. Find your crystal in those caves I will show you how to build a lightsaber when you return.”

She looked at him, her face expressing her agreement even though that was not how she felt. He was sending her out in to the world. She had spent her whole life being an adult, never having a true childhood other than one filled with responsibilities. This was just another responsibility, another task to perform and yet the gravity of it was immense.

Luke handed her back to the lightsaber which she had been using in her training, “Until you get your own.” He whispered. She took it in her hands, feeling it once more. It was trying to belong to her, trying to be a part of her and yet it failed to completely bond with her.

She walked outside, the wind piercing through her body as she sat down upon the green grass, her fingers running through it. Part of her didn’t want to leave the safety of this planet, of this place that was green and like a dream. She closed her eyes, silently whispering words that came to her brain as she tried to imagine where it was. Her crystal, her portion of the Force. She could sense so much life around her, but through the buzz of the crashing waves and the crying gulls she could feel it, calling out to her. She focused on the singular feeling, on the sensation trying to see where in the caves of Ilum her crystal was.

But it wasn’t a place of ice that she saw when she focused her mind.

Ashes, she could see pale grey ashes mixing in with yellow sand. But it wasn’t the sand of a desert, it was the course sand like that of Jakku, it was wet. She could feel it underneath her as if she was sitting in it herself the white sand that ran along the shore of a small island. Something about this island was familiar, she hadn’t been there but someone else had. They had laid back on this beach staring up at the clouds above as the sand rubbed into wet skin, panting and out of breath from swimming to the island.

Rey could feel herself inhabiting the memory of someone else, it was a strange feeling as she stood up, looking down at the young woman’s wet clothes. She was hardly more than a child. She wasn’t alone on this island, there were other people with her but that wasn’t important to Rey, she needed to know where this was. If she was going to go against the guidance of Skywalker she needed to be certain of this new location.

 She turned the head of the woman whose memory she was in, looking around at the large houses which lined the great lake. This planet was lush, covered in green and gold and so many colors of flowers which she had never seen before. But the island was small, there was no cave here which could possible contain Force embedded crystals, but Rey knew it was there on that island. It hadn’t been when this girl had been there, but it was now. Somehow the name of this place came to her… _Naboo_.

She opened her eyes bringing herself back to the island which she knew she was on. Rey stood knowing where she needed to go, she rushed down the steps back to the Millennium Falcon, she could fly the thing herself, she knew where she was going now, her destination was clear as ever. The droid followed behind her, and as the door closed behind her she allowed it to follow her to the cockpit.

Rey leaned down and looked into its eye as it plugged into the computer and began transmitting the coordinates to Ilum.  

“We’re not going there.” Rey said softly as her fingers dances across the controls.

It beeped its disappointment. “Well it’s nice that you happen to have such information.”  It beeped again telling her just how much that it truly knew. “Really your memory has never been wiped in sixty years?… Well yes, then you do contain _very_ valuable information.”

The droid cooed as she turned and looked at it, speaking to it with a whisper as if she was afraid of speaking the truth aloud. “But my crystal isn’t on Ilum, I’ve seen where it is…. Where is Naboo?”

She had expected more berating, yet it beeped at her happily. “It’s your home?” She said surprised. “Well, take us there.”

As a child she had read about all the places in the world that she had wished to see. The planets of water and greenery, the imagined them in her eyes yet they were never as vivid as they were in reality. Her breath caught in her throat as they broke into the atmosphere, her imagination hadn’t done it justice. Cities shone like gems on top of the waterfalls, ships of silver and gold slid in and out of the rocks. With every planet she saw she was more and import impressed by its beauty. Here was a planet whose old beauty had endure through so many wars.

She pulled into the landing port carved into the side of the cliffs. She wished she had grown up here instead of Jakku, this was a paradise in comparison.

The flower lined streets of the capital city were basked in the warm sunlight. Rey looked around wildly at people happily going on about their daily lives. She could feel the pull of the Force calling to her, just as the lightsaber at her hip had once called to her. As she walked through the streets of Theed, inquiring as to transport out to the lake district she could see the eyes of people watching her. Rey could have sworn she saw more than one elderly woman looking at her with a warm smile as their eyes fell upon her weapon. She wondered if she should have hidden it, if someone here too would spy on her and call the First Order. But Artoo had told her how this planet had been saved by Jedi before, perhaps there were still some people old enough to remember those days.

She bought her way onto a small shuttle service which took her out to the lavish homes of the lake district. Rey kept her face pressed to the glass of the shuttle as she watched the world pass by her with fascination. The sheer variety of plants that were native to Naboo impressed her. She disembarked the large lake in sight, the droid at her side chirping happily as she looked at the small island in the center. She looked across the water not seeing any boats for hire, wondering how she would possibly get to the small island.

Something within her told her she could swim, even though she had no memory of ever doing such a thing. She walked down to the edge of the lake, trampling over the native growth until she came to the water’s edge. She took off her boots and her vest, placing them underneath a bush along with her bag. Telling R2-D2 to wait along with her stuff as she walked to the water’s edge, not caring if anyone saw her the pull to the island was strong.

Rey waded into the water, letting it rise up to her waist. Her brain was conflicted filled with both panic and surely as she bent forward her arms gliding through the water as she slowly began to swim. The cool water supported her as her arms and feet moved of her own accord as her head moved up and down through the water. She took small shallow breaths as the distance between her and the island slowly weakened.

Her feet sank into the wet sand as she turned to lie on her back looking up at the pillowy clouds. But she only rested for a moment before the pull of the Force rose within in her. She stood, her bare feet walking over the sand and the small branches which littered the island. The buzzing in her ear was so loud, it was all she could hear. Her own through had disappeared, the sounds of her breathing had disappeared as she walked into the small grove of trees and flowers.

Her head turned from side to side as she looked for a crystal, a small piece of shining light within the grains of sand. But there was so much to see, and so many images running through her brain. Little girls running and laughing, a young woman crying as she looked up at the sky helpless knowing war was imminent, a woman coming to mourn the death of a sister, a pair of black gloves underneath a starry sky.

Rey fell to her knees, digging down in the sand, her fingers stinging as she pushed aside the wet sand as quickly as possible before it slid back down into the deep hole. Her hands were moving so rapidly, and yet she didn’t feel feverish as she dug down into the earth. And then there was something other than the cool sand at her fingertips. Her hand reached down and pulled the metal cylinder from the earth.

Rey looked at the lightsaber which she had pulled up from the sand, she was confused but it felt… She reached down at her hip placing the other lightsaber in her hand. She grasped them both feeling the balance between them as she held them in her hands. They both felt a part of her, and yet there was still the smallest imperfection.

“Why?” The words escaped her mouth as she sat on the sandy beach looking at the two weapons in her hands. She looked down at the two sabers which had called out to her. She released both of the blades, the blue light casting down upon her wet skin. She shook her head, switching which hand held onto which lightsaber and yet it didn’t seem to make any difference, there was still the sense of discomfort.

Feeling almost ashamed at her bravado Rey placed both of the weapons on her belt, knowing that she would need help. The idea of needing assistance almost made her shiver, she had spent so much of her life relying solely on herself that she embarrassed to ask for help.

She swam back to the other shore, the droid who had seem more than possibly anyone she knew catching her eye. “It doesn’t make sense.” Rey said as looked at R2-D2, holding both lightsabers in her hands.

She droid looked at her, and the hilts in her hands. It gave a low cry. “What do you mean you know someone who can help?” Rey asked him.

It beeped. _Do you trust me?_ It asked her. It was a strange thing for a droid to ask, but this was no normal astromech.

Rey nodded as she looked at it. “Do you know who it belongs to?”

Beep, beep, beeeep. _My master._ She frowned at him, wondering what that could possibly mean.

Back on the Millennium Falcon she placed her trust in the droid as he sat back down in the chair and allowed it to navigate the way across the galaxy. Hours later they came out of hyperspace and Rey looked out of the cockpit at the derelict ship which was hovering in space. She had heard stories of abandoned ships left in space, pieces of trash that were salvaged and mangled until they only resembled death traps with no life support. She grabbed a breather as she felt the Millennium Falcon dock with the abandoned ship, a light in her hand as she opened the seal between the two ships, allowing R2-D2 to go first into the empty ship.

It was old, Old Republic era construction. She could name all the salvageable parts as she walked through the ship, guided by the small light on top of the astromech droid as it raised its scanner as it rolled down the rounded corridors. She continued through the main level of the ship, her uneasiness rising as she noticed how it had not been ransacked, and yet it had been floating in space for so long.

R2-D2 gave a sharp beep and she flooring it, watching as the droid bounced from side to side in front of a rusted body. “It’s just an old droid.” Rey replied her voice manipulated into a deep tone through the breather, but R2-D2 was instant. “Fine, see if you can turn the life support on and the lights too.” She said as she shone her light over the droid examining the gears and mechanisms to see if she could turn it on.

She reached behind the neck of the human like droid, feeling a small switch, she flipped it watching as the creature’s eyes came to life. “Hello.” She said as she took a step back.

“I am Architect Professor Huyang.”

“Professor?” She said in disbelief.

“And you are a Jedi.” It said firmly. Rey blinked at the droid her face frozen in shock as the lights came on and she saw the library like rows of containers behind the droid. It was like what Luke had shown her, what Yoda had done. She took her mask of as she felt the air begin to flow around her. “Have you brought me your crystals?” It asked her as if it had never been asleep, as if just yesterday he had been teaching younglings how to construct their lightsabers.

Rey reached down into her bag and pulled out the two lightsabers fearful that Professor Huyang was going to think her strange as she placed them out in front of them.

“What are you?” She breathed as its hands reached out and took the lightsabers from her.

“For a thousand years I have helped in the creation of Jedi lightsabers, I know the construction every lightsaber ever made.” It said briskly as it looked down at her.

“Who did that one belongs to?” She tested it as she pointed at the one she had taken from Kylo Ren on the Starkiller.

He raised up the one lightsaber. “This one belonged to Anakin Skywalker.”

She nodded her head already knowing that. Rey pointed to the lightsaber she had dug out of the sand of Naboo. “And who did that one belongs to?”

 “This is the saber of Master Obi Wan Kenobi.” She furrowed her brow as she heard R2-D2 beep. “Are you ready to begin?”

She shook her head at the droid in refusal. “I didn’t bring you my crystal.”

Huyang’s head tilted at her in curiosity. “Yes you did.” It handed her back both the hilts. “It’s not uncommon for crystals to be reused from time to time. It is uncommon for one person to be drawn to two different kyber crystals.”

Uncommon, it was a word that seemed to describe Rey very well everything about her was uncommon. She took the two hilts placing them down on the ground as she closed her eyes and raised her hands in the air. She could feel the two crystals, humming like they were singing together. But it wasn’t a pleasant harmony just yet. The gears of the hilts slowly came apart as she opened her eyes and looked at the wires and parts floating in the air and the two separate crystals which gently floated down to her hand.

“Think of your lightsabers.” Huyang said as it began to walk way, pulling at the cabinets and talking to himself as he looked for parts. “You will want them to complement one another-“

“No.” Rey said as she looked at the crystals in her hands, she didn’t know which one was which anymore. “Not two different ones. One.” She said it with conviction as she felt the Force of the crystals in her hands suddenly fulfilling her. “One saber, with two crystals in it.”

She looked up at the droid, who had been helping making lightsabers for over a thousand years for confirmation. She could have sworn it smiled at her. “Very well.”

**

_Present day_

Somehow she knew, somehow she had always known. Rey raised her right hand, holding the hilt of her lightsaber up as she looked into the face of Kylo Ren. The face of the man who was more than just an advisory to her now. The questions which were running through her head as she looked at the man before her who had been told to kill her didn’t matter. All that mattered, she realized as she was watching his hands shaking, the veins in his arm pulsing as he grasped his lightsaber; was that she live.

Jessika was struggling to break free from the Stormtrooper who was grasping onto her. Her small cries of struggle echoed against the great hall as Rey pressed against the hilt of her lightsaber. The blades hummed into formation as she placed her left hand on her saber waiting in defense.

“You don’t have to do this.” He called out, his voice rattled and shaken.

Rey looked at him, always in disbelief over the words escaping from his mouth. He was as just as unhinged as when she had faced him on Starkiller base.

“Me? She’s the one ordering you to kill me.” Rey said watching as the red blades of his lightsaber related with a whoosh crackling and unstable as he looked at her, his whole body shaking.

He raised his free hand, using the Force to bring down a small section of the ceiling above between them. Rey raised her left hand, stopping the chunks of stone in midair from falling down upon them. She moved her hand away from her body, willing the rocks away and carefully down upon another pile of debris on the temple floor.

But he still stood before her, not stepping forward to attack as he fought with the emotions clashing within himself. She could feel it from across the hall; the anger, pain, hatred and conflict which escaped off him with every breath. Rey looked at him calmly, waiting for him to use that hatred to attack her. But he stood statuesque as he brooded at her.

Behind them both Jessika raised her arms up, hitting the Stormtrooper who was holding onto her, quickly grabbing its blaster and shooting it. She raised the weapon and aimed and Kylo Ren. His hand reached out, pulling her towards him with the force, freezing her just like he had once done with Rey.

“Leave her alone.” Rey said calmly as she looked at Jessika out of the corner of her eye.

He pointed at the lightsaber in her hand. “Just give it to me….and you can both live.” He said as he quivered in anger continuing to choke Jessika.

Rey looked at her, she loved her, but Jessika’s eyes were telling her not to give in to his demands. “It’s mine.” Rey whispered “You know that.” She said softly.

He let out a yell of frustration as he dropped Jessika to the ground releasing her from his powers as he charged towards Rey his lightsaber raised high over his head in a brutal attack formation.

He brought the red blade down as she quickly sidestepped him, his lightsaber fell to the ground cutting into the stone below. He pulled it out, turning and looking at her darkly over his shoulder as he charged at her again.

She blocked his attack this time, the blue and red blades clashing with a flash of yellow light as strands of light and Force opposed one another until Rey took a step back. He attacked again, off balance and poorly aiming as she dodged his attack. She moved across the temple floor gently moving her wrists to block every poorly telegraphed attack.

“You should have come with me.” He yelled at her as he lunged forward once more and she stepped aside, letting him cut up the stones once more.

“Come with you?” Rey scoffed at him as she took a moment to turn her head towards Jessika who was doing her best keeping behind a block of large stone rising up to shoot at the Stormtroopers still left.

His scared head gave a slow nod. “I could have taught you.” He said with a shaking voice.

She paused looking at him in disbelief. That after all that had happened, after how he had tortured and continued chase her across the galaxy he still wanted nothing more than to take her as an apprentice. She would never let that happen, she had seen the power of the darkness within him, the blinds pot that he was unable to see in his own false sense of idolization.

 “You were a _Jedi_.” She replied her voice dripping with amazement as she considered what he was saying unimaginable. “And you choose to betray them. To betray your family…. You killed your own father.” She yelled at him, stunned but his lack of sight.

His chest rose up and down as he looked at her, unable to hang on to the little bit of self-control which he still had. He charged at her, his weapon high overhead each of the strikes that he made more and more unskilled as he acted out of pure hatred.

Rey was being pushed back, moving her lightsaber back and forth a lifetime worth of handing a staff paying off as she defended herself. But he was taking no pauses as he hacked away at her, pushing her back and back over the mounds of the debris the two of them ignoring the shots going on behind them the calls which were coming over their communicators as they focused on only one another.

Their lightsabers clashed against one another, as the moved over the obstacles all around them, jumping from high to low ground as one attacked and the other defended.

“You don’t have to do this.” Rey whispered as their blades met once more. She looked into his eyes seeing in the glow of the red and blue light the hatred for the world around him.

His head was shaking, his eyes wild as he pushed against her, bringing himself closer as he took as step and closed the distance between them. “You don’t know…” He breathed with the small voice of a confused child. There was something in his eyes, as if the will he had to fight her was all gone. His dark eyes had gone soft and hazy as he looked at her, shaking his head.

Rey didn’t know what to say. She took a small step back, disengaging their blades as she began to lower her arm in an act of clemency.

She knew the moment she moved her hand away that it had been a miscalculation as he stepped forward. His motions almost inhuman as he swung high lightsaber high above his head, but the primal yell of frustration which left his straining face was the cry of a man being pulled apart by a force greater than himself. The red blade arched swiftly through the air as it approached Rey’s outstretched hand.

It was moving through her wrist and down to her arm her body filling with pain as her right hand fell to the floor. Rey screamed as she looked down at her severed hand, the scent of burnt fresh filled her nose as her eyes filled with tears.

Rey fell to her knees screaming and grasping for breath as she looked at her hand and lightsaber no long a part of her. She looked up, her vision clouded as she made out the outline of the dark haired man standing over her.

He didn’t smile nor did he lunge down to finish her off. He retracted the blade of his lightsaber and looked at her with the same glare of puzzlement that he always had since he first saw his cousin on Takodana.

“Mother always said to look out for you.” He said softly as he looked down at her.  “You were the one they were afraid of.”

Rey shook her head, her body struggling to handle so much pain, so much information. “Wh….what are you talking about?" She asked, her voice trembling.

He bent down, removing his glove as he placed his bare hand on her head, stroking her soft hair. “Don't you remember little fly? Of course you don't... I made sure you didn't.”


	10. Chapter Ten

“Mother always said to look out for you.” He said softly as he looked down at her.  “You were the one they were afraid of.”

Rey shook her head, her body struggling to handle so much pain, so much information. “Wh….what are you talking about?" She asked, her voice trembling.

He bent down, removing his glove as he placed his bare hand on her head, stroking her soft hair. “Don't you remember little fly? Of course you don't... I made sure you didn't.”

 

_*A long time ago*_

 

He had grown up in these hallways, going up and down them before he could even walk. As an infant his mother had strapped him to her chest as she attended every Senate meeting. When he was old enough to talk he had sat in her lap with a stuffed toy to occupy his time. When he was too big for that Ben had sat under his mother's chair, reading stories on a data pad.

At nearly fourteen he knew these corridors well. He knew when the sunlight hit just so to temporarily blind you as you came around a corner. He knew when the guards changed shift, when this Senator or that Senator stepped out to head to lunch or have a daily meeting. He walked up and down them with the privileges that many others did not have. Yet to him it was nothing, it was boring. The glamor of the politics of Coruscant and the entire galaxy, lost on a privileged boy.

He was walking briskly trying to act like a child playing at a game as he brushed past all the species which cursed him in the native language as he ran by them. They knew him all, they had called him a variety of colorful phrases over the years as he had played pranks on Gungans or the Hutts. He was just the little boy who had always been there, the little boy would got into trouble. In the end was nothing of consequence.

"E chut ta Solo." Came the sharp calls of a droid as he knocked into it. His mind was distracted; he wasn’t paying as close attention to the corridors that he knew as well as the back of his own hand as he scrambled up already rounded the corner.

He was late. That was why he was running. He had gotten caught up in a game with a few of the other Padawan’s and now he was afraid that he had ruined everything. The plan which had been brewing for weeks. The plan that only a few people knew of. That was so secretive that it had been spoken about in the lost native language of the planet which his mother had grown up on. A planet that had been destroyed when she wasn’t much older than he was now. The plan in where so much of it was dependent on him.  His mother always talked about how at fourteen she was already a double agent and running missions for the Rebel Alliance. She had never let him have such a responsibility yet, and he was determined not to fail her.

He kept running, feeling the metal hilt banging into his side as he sidestepped a guard and rounded another corner, coming to an abrupt stop, but sit managing to fall into the woman who was standing guard at the doorway.

"Sorry Master Skywalker." Ben Solo muttered as he looked up at the woman.

Amara Skywalker was dressed in light colored Jedi robes, her father's old tattered cloak around her shoulders proudly. But it was all an illusion, Ben knew that now. Amara had no love for the father she had been taken away from as a child. Her loyalty was still to the Empire which had raised her, to the deceased Sith lords whose vision she continued on. 

"I have a message from my mother." He said softly as he looked up at her face, seeing the menace behind her smile.

She stepped aside but the door did not open still. "I am leaving for the Felucia system soon, I won't be seeing you for quite some time, Ben." She said gently. But he knew it was a lie. She wasn't going away on a peace mission, she was going away to tend to the army of rebellion which she was brewing, the First Order which she had created to continue a deceased emperors vision.

"Good bye then." He replied as he clenched his hands behind his back watching as she walked away from him. His breath not calming as she left his sight.

The door opened with a soft whoosh and he looked up to see the little girl sitting on the plush chair playing with the wooden model of a ship which had been given to her when she was just an infant. Her father was behind her sitting at the table bent over a data pad as he typed away. Luke looked up at his nephew and gave him a steely nod as he stood up and walked away to the balcony.

This had all been rehearsed, it had all been planned, and they all had their roles to play. Their backs t turned at the right time so they could have deniability.

The little girl looked up and smiled at him, her brown eyes shining with pure happiness as she jumped down off the sofa and rushed towards him. "Ben!" She cried out as she soared into his arms. She was almost five now, almost too large for him to carry her. Even though she was heavy in his arms, he didn't want to put her down.

"Hello little fly." He said his voice cracking as he looked her up and down. She was dressed in a finely embossed white tunic top, her dark hair wrapped around her head in braids which would be falling out in sooner time than it had taken for them to be placed in that fashion. She looked like a miniature version of her aunt as she nestled into his shoulder.

He looked out of the corner of his eye, there was an uncomfortable resolution in Luke Skywalker’s face as he looked at his daughter, her life in the hands of the young boy. But he gave a small nod of approval towards his apprentice as the door to the office closed behind them.

The children stepped out into the hallway. "We're going on an adventure." He whispered into her ear as he began to walk down the corridors once more, tightening his grip on her.

“Don’t carry me… I can walk” The little girl frowned. She pushed against him, but he pulled her in tighter towards his body as he quickened his pace.

Ben looked over his shoulders as he carried her down the corridors. He knew them well and yet he was still afraid that someone would see them and raise suspicion. That they would be stopped, asked where they were going. He broke into a near run, trying to remain calm so that the little girl in his arms would not sense his fear. But she did, of course she did. She felt the Force stronger than he ever did, it was why he was doing this in the first place. She looked up at him no longer complaining about him clutching onto her, her eyes swimming with tears as they entered into the lift. Four levels down and they would be in the hanger bay, then they would be safe. She would be safe.

"B-" She began but he placed a finger to her lips.

"It's just a game little fly, we have to be quiet." He said as the doors opened and a handful of species entered into the lift. They nodded in recognition at Ben, seeing nothing wrong with what he was doing.

Three, two, one more level he told himself as he finally saw the hanger bay and the many ships which occupied it. He stepped out, beginning to walk faster and faster, until he was running towards the familiar freighter.

He was up the ramp; he was nearly there. He could feel the beads of sweat running down his forehead as he placed her feet down on the floor for just a moment as he opened up the floor board. This ship was a second home to him and yet he felt no security, no safety, as his hands shakily pulled up the panel.

"Ben." She let out in a nervous squeak as she tried to take a step back away from him but his hand was on her waist drawing her in towards him.

"Rey." He breathed her name.

He sighed knowing there was no other way to get her into the compartment without him accompanying her; a little darkness wouldn't hurt either of them. He reached out and touched her forehead, using a great deal of his own strength to will her to sleep. "You'll be safe soon little fly." He muttered to Rey's sleeping body as he placed it down in the smuggling compartment and shut it gently.

"Anyone aboard?" Ben jumped at the sound of the guard standing on the gang way of the ship his hand on the blaster.

He turned around his own fingers moving toward the weapon on his own hip as his other hand gave a feeble wave. "I'm just waiting for my father. We're heading out to Phindar together." Ben replied.

The guard, seeming to recognize who he was nodded. Ben breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the uniformed man turn around and walk away. He waited until the guard was back at his post on the other end of the hanger before her shut the door to the outside word and ran down the corridors of the Millennium Falcon rushing to the cockpit.

He fiddled with the controls starting up the ship’s engines as he sat nervously in the co-pilot chair. He looked down at his hands in his lap, and then the gleam of something silver caught his eye. He held his lightsaber in his lap, tempted to turn it on to see the rare yellow blade, he was never going to be a Jedi now.

There were the sounds of shuffling feet, of words being cursed underneath his breath and he knew as he heard the door hiss closed that his father was on board.

"You're late." He said nervously as he turned to face his father as he entered into the cock pit

Han Solo let out a small laugh as he ran a hand across his son’s short dark hair. "Well you know... trying not to arise suspicion."  He groaned as he lowered himself into the pilot’s chair, rolling his eyes as he saw that nearly everything in the flight sequence had already been completed by his son. Half of it was wrong, but he said nothing as he corrected his son’s work in silence. He may not have been a Jedi himself, but the boy’s uneasiness could have been seen by a blind man.

The ship lifted off, pulling out of the hanger bay and over the jagged outline of Coruscant. It had once been the capital of the galaxy; it would likely remain that way as well regardless of what the current ruling system was.

"We just have to make it through…." Han muttered out of the corner of his lips as the surface of the planet rapidly disappeared behind them as the reaches of space turned black and they came upon the checkpoint. The slowed the ship down to a crawl as there was the faint hiss of another airlock attaching.

"I know." Ben muttered as he stood up and fallowed his father to greet the New Republic Guards.

The bombings at several New Republic functions had left the core planet under high alert. The threat of the First Order had been growing alongside the murmurs of the name Snoke. But the image of the pale skinned half faceless man which had been spotted amongst the dark corners of the universe were just a mirage in more way than one. The face of the real Snoke, the name of the woman who had been trained under Vader and Palpatine, who wanted to bring back the glory of the empire was only by a select few. Yet neither father nor son mentioned Amara Kenobi Skywalker as they rounded the corner.

The guards were waved off easily, seeing nothing that could possibly wrong, not smart enough to know that there was a little girl fast asleep underneath their very feet. A girl who in two days’ time they would be scouring the galaxy for until she was assumed dead.

As soon as they were in hyperspace, the blue and white streaming vortex all around them Han Solo turned to look at his son with a small frown. "Ben.” He said softly as he looked at his son.

There were days when he saw nothing of himself in his son, then there were days when all that escaped his mouths were lies and swindling words and it was as if he was looking into a mirror. All those years ago he had been a smuggler looking for a way to repay his debts. He had never imagined that he would still be fighting in the war that he seemingly volunteered for when he blasted out of Mos Eisley twenty years previous.

“The hard part is over now.” His son whispered as he looked out the window at the swirling blue and white of hyperspace. Han Solo shook his head, knowing that wasn’t true. “She can’t hurt her anymore…” His son added with such stern conviction. “And if she tried to question you-”

“I’m not…” Torture and coercion didn’t bother him anymore. “I’m worried about you.”

His son looked down at his hands once more, and whispered what both father and son knew to be a lie.  “I’ll be fine.”

There was a small sound of clanking, and they both turned knowing that it was the young girl stirring. Han stood walking through the ship which he had never expected to last him this long. But the Millennium Falcon was more a home than any planet had ever been to him so far, and he didn’t expect that to change. He walked down to the panels in the floor, seeing one rising up a few inches. He bent down lifting it up and looking at the little girl who looked up at him with a bright smile.

"Un'le 'an" She squealed as she placed her arms up in the air for him to pull her up into them. He never through that he would be a good father, most days he didn’t think that he was. But he was surprised enough as it was when his own son liked him, he was even more surprised when his niece did.

Rey looked at him with a large smile, she looked like Leia when she did that. "We're going on an adventure." She proclaimed proudly, so keen on the idea now that she was in space.

Han tried to smile back at her, to give her the sense that everything was okay, but it was hard to lie to her when he knew what he was about to do. She was going on that adventure alone. He doubted that she would consider it much of an adventure in a few years. Being left all alone on a small planet, a little child waiting for her family to return, smaller things had driven people insane.

The best thing he could do for her now was keep her distracted. "Come on, I'll let you see how many wires you can pull out before a warning light goes off." He said, her eyes lighting up as she ran to the control room to tug and pull gently on the wires. Seven was the most that she manage to get before the warning light for the shields systems turned on, though he had to admit it was far better than anything he had ever managed.

But she was a little child, easily bored with one thing and ready to move on to another. Ben managed to keep her occupied for a while by pulling out his lightsaber. She watched as the yellow blade moved back and forth against the small blasts of the remote.

“I want to try.” Rey called out as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. He shook his head at her and she frowned crossing her thin arms over her chest as she looked up at him, her face menacing.

Han leaned back as he watched the two children with interest, wondering if both of them were using their abilities to try and control the mind of the other. “Your too little.” His son said as he looked down at his cousin his face twisted into a grimace as well.

“No I’m not.” She replied knowing that she was right. Luke had been letting her hold a lightsaber since she was old enough to stand on her own, watching on with a proud look on his face as his daughter swung the small blade from side to side. Even now the two children would do their pretend battles in the training areas, the considerable height and skill difference making them an interesting spectacle to behold.

Ben sighed as he bent down and handed her the blade. “Be careful.” He said, knowing that he didn’t need to warn her as the yellow blade flashed before her face. He almost looked on with a small pang of jealousy as she easily moved back and forth with the small blade. They both could feel the Force, but it was far stronger in her.

Rey moved around remote, dodging every blast as she moved from side to side. Han watched on remembering the first time he had ever seen her father doing such a thing. He had been so skeptical of the world; he still was from time to time. But he didn’t know how little he truly knew about the universe. He had considered himself to be so knowledgeable of shipping routes and ways to evade the Empire of which crime loads to pay off and which ones to avoid. But there really was something far bigger than any of them. He knew it now as he watched his best friend’s daughter, his niece, wield his son’s lightsaber, there really was the Force.

She tired herself out quickly, and it would be another day until they reached the small planet which was their destination. Her eyes were beginning to glaze over with sleep as Han picked her up in his arms again and walked her down the corridors to the small bunks.

“Have I ever told you about the time your father and I almost got burned alive?” He asked her as he set her down on the bed recessed into the wall, placing a blanket over her and leaning down to look her in the eye.

Her eyes widened with fear as she looked at him shaking her head. He didn’t know if he had already told her, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to remember anyways. He told her the tale with great embellishment, trying his best to make the Ewoks sound less like walking balls of fur and more formidable opponents. After all it had been one of their more embarrassing scrapes, having to rely on C3-P0 to get them out of it. But she listened to the tale with great aplomb her eyes widening and lips forming into a smile. She drifted quickly off to sleep and he was left remembering those days on Endor. Perhaps they had been foolish to think that after that day there would be no conflict left in the universe, this thing called life was never easy. But that truth was not something which they wanted to remind themselves of in the middle of a celebration.

He walked back though the corridors finding his son sitting at the holo-chess table staring down at the weapon in his hands. 

“You don’t have to do this Ben." He said softly as he looked at his son.

The boy shook his head. "Yes I do." He said stubbornly. "She's just a little girl, she doesn’t know any better. Rey's not…. She can’t see her mother for what she truly is."

Han lowered his head. None of them had known that Amara hadn't truly given up her old ambitions. Even Luke had believed that his wife had renounced the darkness which she had been raised in. But now her intentions were clearer than ever, at just five years old Rey was strong with the Force and her mother intended to use that for the cruelest of intentions. Luke had been desperate to hide in daughter, turning to one of his oldest friends to ensure her protection. Han knew of places where Amara would never even imagine to look for Rey, but he had not expected his own son to make the choice to offer to become his aunts apprentice in the girl’s place.

He looked at his son, "If you go down that path, we will lose you."

"I've already been trained by Uncle Luke; I can resist her. I won't give into the dark side, not really." He said it with conviction but Han wasn’t sure if either of them believed it. Both of them wanted to believe that would be the case, but neither of them had such assurances.

"We will help you, Your mother and I, however we can." He said with a small smile trying to hide his uneasiness as he watched his son run his fingers across the lightsaber which he had once been so proud to get. Now he looked down at with a sad longing, knowing that the weapon was more of a curse than anything.

“I don’t know if you can help.”

“I don’t know either.” Han admitted “But maybe one day... anything that I can do, I will do it Ben... For you”

Neither father nor son said anything in reply as they moved to spend time along with their thoughts as they reached their destination.

The teenaged boy slunk off to sleep, but Han stayed in the cockpit his mind too worried with thought to let sleep take him. He knew what would become of Rey in time, he had seen it with his own eyes, in her father. Luke had been a kid who knew nothing of the real Empire or how the universe worked much beyond a few miles outside of the moisture farm which he had grown up in. Those first few years had been tedious, explains the customs of other planets, of species which hadn’t migrated to Tatooine.

Growing up on a desert planet on the edge of nowhere was no way to live, and Luke had a least had come real family to look after him. Rey would have no one. She would be alone likely to spend the rest of her life surrounded by sand until she died. There were few places that offered the safety that Jakku had, but he wished for her own sake that she was being sent to somewhere else more interesting.

He sighed, knowing that he was focusing more on the fate of Rey to distract him from the fate of his son. He was willingly going down the path of the dark side in order to save people, at least Han knew that was something he got from his mother. He closed his eyes, trying to remember a day when life was easier, there weren’t many choices.

“Dad.” He felt the hand on his shoulder.  His feet fell to the floor as he turned to look at his son who was wearing a dark cloak over his clothes. “We should be getting ready to come out of hyperspace.” Ben said softly as he sat down in the copilot chair, waiting for his father to tell him what to do.

He instructed him deftly, not letting his child see his worried face. “Is she going to remember?” Han asked softly.

Ben looked at him, his vulnerable expression answering the question. “I don’t think so. Not on purpose at least. But…. I’m not very” They were asking him to wipe her memory of the life she had so far, it was a large task for half a child to manage. “I’ll do my best…I… she might.” He resolved finally. “But at least… were going to be the only ones who know she’s on Jakku.”

Neither Luke nor Leia wanted to know the planet the little girl was being sent to, “You could be lying to me about that.” Han said with a falsely confident smile.

Ben shook his head “I’m not.” He stated. “I want you to know where she is. In case anything ever happens. In case things go wrong, keep her safe, leave her a way out. Stop… stop Amara or …. or me, from getting to her.”

Han nodded saying nothing as he looked at the countdown until they came out of hyperspace, an hour was all he had left. He had been itching to get this mission over with and now he never wanted it to end.

Ben cleared his throat “Do you think she’ll be mad? If one day she finds out who she really is? Was Luke mad when he learned that Vader was his father?”

The corner of his lip turned up in a smile. “I don’t know, I wasn’t there. That was the day I was frozen in carbonite. By the time I saw Luke he had come to accept it. Leia said that he was angry for a few days. And your mother well… she was calm about it. But then she had always seemed to _know_ things.”

The boy gave a small noncommittal nod, unsure of the plan he had committed to. Han stood up, knowing it was time to wake the girl who was sleeping peacefully.

 "Come on Rey, we need to get you in your adventure clothes." Han said as he woke her, taking her by the hand and showed her the small tan tunic which was suited for the dessert climate.

It would do for now, until she managed to find something better to suit her. The long tan cloth trailed after her, as her feet pounded on the grated floor as she ran to the cockpit. Her fine hair was falling out of her braids, and Ben was beginning to undo them. He ran his hands through her hair as she tried to touch all the controls, and unable to braid it himself he placed it in small ponytails the best he could.

Han sat down in his chair, looking at them both with a guilty expression on his face. There was a time when he had never believed in all this Jedi stuff, and now here he was helping his son, a Jedi himself fight for the balance of the universe.

A tear was beginning to form in the little girl’s eyes. "I miss my Mommy and Daddy." She said in a small high pitched voice when Ben asked her what was wrong.

Han watched as his son pulled the little girl in closer towards him, wrapping his arms around her small frame. "It's all right little fly." He said, calling her the affectionate name which he had always referred to her as. "You'll always be alright; I'll make sure of that." He whispered into her ear as she rested her small head against his chest.

They remained like that, silently comforting one another for quite some time, until there was a small beep and the ship exited hyperspace. "This is your stop." Han said as they docked with the small shuttle that would take them down to the surface of Jakku where the old acquaintance waiting to be well paid was waiting. Rey quickly scampered off, but Ben hung back looking at his father for assurances.

"I don’t approve of this plan." Han said in a prickly voice.

"I know." His son replied.

"Good, I felt it just needed saying." He said as he took a step forward wanting to pull him into an embrace but hesitating.

Ben reached down to his waist and pulled off his lightsaber handing it to his father. "Keep it safe." He murmured "I'll need it again one day"

Han reached out and pulled his son into a tight embrace, he was proud of the brave decision which the young boy was making even if he feared it would be the undoing of all their lives. "May the Force be with you." He said, not knowing how else to say goodbye.

Han watched as his son disappeared into the boxy aircraft wondering if the boy had been on his side for all this time, or if he had always belonged to Amara.

She was quiet all the way down to the planet, watching out of the window and the endless sea of sand came into view. She would be safe, he told himself. They would all be safe, but it was still difficult to accept as he bent down and looked into the little girl’s eyes. She was on the verge of tears once more as Ben placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her.

"This is going to be your home now, and you'll wait here for your family to return." He placed a hand on her head, seeing the world through her eyes for a moment before he tapped into his own darkness to take it all away.

"Your name is Rey, you have to stay on Jakku and wait for your family to come back and that is all you know."

He paused inhaling sharply as he calmed his own mind and repeated the phrase again. "Your name is Rey, you have to stay on Jakku and wait for your family to come back and that is all you know."

He was doing his best not to cry, this was the alternative to watching her slip effortlessly to the Dark Side. "Your name is Rey, you have to stay on Jakku and wait for your family to come back and that is all you know." He said one more time

"What do you know?" He asked her.

She smiled up at him, the same friendly smile she gave to people whom she had never met in the streets of Coruscant. "My name is Rey, I have to stay on Jakku and wait for my family." She said in a chipper tone.

He nodded curtly, standing up rapidly and taking her hand as they exited the ship. The short round man with a stubby nose was awaiting them, he looked upon Rey with great apprehension wondering what was so special about her, but if he was lucky he would never know. Ben handed over the purse filled with credit chips, more than likely more wealth than anyone on this planet had to begin with. And then, without looking down at her, he handed over Rey's small hand.

Ben turned, but he hadn't taken more than three steps before she began to cry out.

"Don't..... don't go.... DON'T LEAVE ME." This was saving her from the Dark Side he told himself as he did not look back.

"NO.....NO....COME BACK....." She would be safe, she would lead a normal boring life, and she would never be found by the mother who wanted to turn her to evil. This was the right choice, it wasn't easy but it was right, he would take her place as Amara's apprentice he would trick her just as their grandfather once had.

"COME BACK." Rey cried out as Ben closed the door of the ship behind himself. "NO.....NO.....NO...."

  _Present_ _Day_

"NO...no....no." The pleadings of the young woman mixed with his memories of the child screaming as she crawled forward on her stomach towards the severed hand which landed on the temple floor. He bent down and picked up the lightsaber within it. It was hers now, the crystals inside which had once belonged to two other men, her grandfathers. They had sworn their allegiance to her now. He walked over and placed it in her remaining hand and she looked up at him with strange confusion, as if though all the pain she remembered.

"I'm sorry." He said as he looked at her. All Rey could do was scream and with every curdling cry he winced.

He stood looking at the two remaining Stormtroopers who were standing dumbfounded, he walked over to them killing them easily with a flick of his wrist and then back to Rey who was writhing still on the floor.

"HELP HER!" He yelled at the woman who was cowering in the shadows her blaster pistol still raised at him. Jessika was frozen, not knowing what was going on or how to process what had happened in a matter of minutes. "If you care about her, then help her up so we can leave." He yelled at her. 

Jessika's head was shaking in disapproval as she looked at the man clad in black before her. "You…. You…" She stammered unable to complete here thought.

He placed his lightsaber down on the ground and kicked it over to Jessika. "Take it then." With a shaking hand Jessika picked up the weapon, but she still stood unable to move any further.

Up above them there was the sounds of blaster fire and shouts. As Finn tried to hold off the troopers who remained. The scarred man bent down and placed his arms underneath her body, pulling himself up as she rested across his arms. Rey continued to whine in pain as her eyes met his.

"You'll be safe soon little fly." He whispered as he walked towards the platform standing in the center of the room. She was shaking in his arms, tears running down her face as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening. His face was twisted with conflict, with the struggle that was within him but shining through the strongest was his determination to make sure she was alright.

He stood on the platform, waiting for the other woman to move towards him. Rey reached up with her good hand and tugged at the dark cloth which he had draped across his shoulders. The tattered remnants of the cloak once worn by an Emperor whom neither of them had ever met, but whose power and agenda had shaped their lives fell to the ground of the temple floor silently. She looked at him her face almost breaking into a relieved smile. She turned her head, yelping out in pain as she looked at Jessika. Her pleading eyes telling her that it was alright.

Jessika ran across the floor to the center of the old firebird symbol, jumping over the bodies of Stormtroopers and the debris which littered the floor as she jumped onto the platform.

They rose higher and higher towards the surface of the planet and the fighting which was continuing one. The light hit their eyes as they smelled the blaster fire and heard the roar of the shuttlecraft taking off in the distance. The platform came to a stop as they stood amongst the rubble looking around for the remaining ship. He began to walk towards it, ignoring the world around him as he carried Rey in his arms his eye dead ahead as his expressionless face focused on his target. Jessika followed, the baster still in her hand as she shot away at any of the remaining storm troopers, her face grimacing in determination.

"REY." Finn's voice rang out across the battlefield as he clumsily made his way to his feet. "REY." He called out again as he saw the woman once again in the arms of his enemy. He would not let her be captured again, he would not let her down. He was going to fight for her, for his friends whom he cared about. Finn rose to his feet shuffling after them still calling out not understanding what was happening as he watched them board the shuttle, Jessika standing on the ramp shooting away at all the Stormtroopers until there was none left.

Finn made his way up the ramp, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he watched the man whom he only knew as Kylo Ren place Rey gently down upon the floor of the shuttle. She was still crying in pain, her sole hand clutching onto her lightsaber as she looked up at the man who was reaching for a medical kit.

It was as if everything Finn knew to be true had suddenly turned on him, as if the world was now a strange nightmare.

"Finn." He looked up to see Poe, bloody and bruised sitting against the wall looking just as confused as he felt. He rushed to him, falling on his knees ignoring the pain that surged through his body as ran his hands over the injured face of the man he loved.

"What happened?" Finn cried out as he looked at him, wondering how he could stop the bleeding that was coming from his forehead.

"I ejected from the ship." He said with a small smile as he looked past Finn's shoulder at the three others in the ship. "What's 'ong…. Rey?" He said coughing up a small amount of blood.

"Fly the ship." The man at Rey's feet said in a hoarse voice as he looked up briefly at Jessika.

"What?" She exclaimed looking down at him, still not trusting him even though she held his lightsaber in her hands.

"You're a pilot." He said in a wobbly voice.  "Get us out of here."

She was shaking her head at him as she fell to her knees, touching Rey for the first time since the other woman had lost her hand. "No" She whined as she bent down and kissed Rey gently on the forehead pushing the hair out of her face.

He looked at her angrily. "FLY THE SHIP." He yelled Forcefully.

"Stop." Rey breathed as she looked up at them both. She took a labored breath as her weary gaze fell between them both. "Jess…. Please… fly the ship." She added as she closed her eyes.

Jessika stood up shaking her head, barely able to believe what she was doing as she stood and flew the First Order shuttle away from the temple, not knowing at all where she was going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so meant to be a happy story, but alas my imagination ran away from me.  
> If you feel the need to yell at me for what I do to fictional characters or just want to know what the weather is like in my neck of the woods check me out on tumblr, efrye.tumblr.com. I just started it yesterday so not much at the moment...


	11. Chapter Eleven

Rey stirred, feeling the warmth of the many layers of blankets upon her. It was comforting to come naturally out of sleep; her eyes gently widening to her surroundings as she felt the soft bed supporting her. Colors and shapes flashed before her eyes but it took a moment for the world around her to come into clarity. Her head turned from side to side as she looked at the interior of the Merciful Vornskr. They were back in Ula’ree and suddenly everything was coming back to her as she saw the look of relief spread across Jessika’s face.

“Hey.” Jess said as she leaned across the bed reaching out and touching Rey’s left hand. The gesture seemed strange to her at first, and then she remembered what had happened to her right. She looked down at the stump where her hand had once been, the Zabrakian innkeeper was gently placing a small metal cuff around it.

“It’s a clean cut, you shouldn’t have any problems getting another one.” He said, as if losing one’s hand was the most casual thing in the world. “But I don’t think you will be able to find another one here on Dantooine unless you head into one of the major settlements.”

She turned and looked at Jessika as the pain slowly began to seep into her body, her legs becoming heavy and tight, her throat feeling blocked as she looked at her. “It’s only been a few hours.” Jessika whispered kindly.

“I want to talk to him.” Rey replied. She lost her balance as she tried to sit up in the bed, used to performing the action with both hands until she finally managed to put enough weight on her left arm to pull her upper body up.

Jessika looked at her with wide eyes, worried for her safety. “I don’t know if that a good idea.”

“I don’t care.” Rey snapped as she went to throw off the heavy covers with her right hand. “Kriff.” She cursed loudly as she angrily pushed herself up and out of the bed. The Zabrak shuffled backwards as Rey looked down at the dirty clothes which she was still wearing.

Jessika stood up and moved around the other side of the bed to try and cut her off. “Rey.”

“I’m talking to him Jessika.” She said as she stepped out into the hallway and looked at the many marked doors. “Where is he?”

Jessika ran ahead of her, stopping Rey in her tracks as she placed her hands on the other woman’s shoulders and looked into her dark eyes. “Take a breath and calm down Rey.”

She could sense her worry. Jessika was afraid that she was going to do something rash. “I’m not going to kill him Jess, I just need answers.” She whispered.

Satisfied with her reply, Jessika walked her down the end of the hallway stopping in front of the last door. “We need to leave soon.”

“Is everyone-” She paused remembered that both of their other companions had been injured.

“Don’t worry, they’re alright. We’ll work something out.” Jess sniffled and looked at Rey apprehensively before she leaned forward. Jess wrapped her in a tight embrace, kissing her gently. “Good luck.” She whispered as she stepped away and down the hallway.

Rey pressed the keypad and stepped inside of the small room. There was a bouncing beep and she looked at BB-8 which had a small gun like apparatus protruding from its body as it stood guard. The man before her was sitting on the bed, staring down at his hands which were bound with a pair of binders. He seemed smaller, less imposing as be turned and looked at her, his face swimming with emotions.

“I’m sorry.” He breathed as he looked pointedly at the mark of the hand which he had cut off. “It appears to be a fam-” He stopped mid word as he looked at the icy glare Rey was giving.

She looked at him, wondering herself if it was rage or frustration which was rising up within her. The door closed behind her and she looked at him sitting in the dim room. He was trying to smile at her but it came out all wrong as the light danced across his face making him look twisted. She took a step forward, her mouth falling open but she didn’t know what to say first.

“Who is she?” The words fell out of her mouth low and with no inflection.

“You already know… she’s your mother.” He said softly.

“Why?” She pleaded stepping into the light which was pouring in through the window. “But why would she be will to kill me? Why is she… the way she is?…. Why was I placed on Jakku? I don’t know why?” She said shaking her head.

He leaned back, his dark hair falling down around his shoulders as he looked up at the ceiling above. “Sit down.” He muttered. “It’s a long story that begins before either of us were ever born.” Rey looked around, finding a sole chair and dragging it towards the bed with her foot. “Before you met him, before you knew he was more than just a myth; what did you know of Luke Skywalker?”

She could feel her chest tightening again as she realized that he was more than just the myth of her childhood and her teacher, he was her father. _Ben_ , _why didn’t you tell me_? The words that she never muttered were running through her mind as she looked into the face of her cousin. “I knew that he was the son of Vader and that he was a Jedi who brought the Emperor down.” 

He nodded and watched as his eyes flicked down to the lightsaber which someone had placed back on her belt. “And do you know who he was, Obi Wan Kenobi?”

Rey looked down at the lightsaber as well. “He taught Luke… and his father before him.”

He nodded like a half approving teacher “You’re correct but….”

“But what?” She snapped.

“Is that all you know about, is that Luke told you?” He was chastising her with his head, like she was an idiot for not knowing when Endor Day was.

She bent forward, shaking her head at him and BB-8 gave a series of melodic beeps. “They fought, at the very end of the Clone Wars, they fought on Mustafar. Obi Wan chopped off his limbs, Anakin, he was consumed by the flames, his body nearly all gone. Its why he needed the suit. It’s how he became the Vader you imagine in your mind.”

“What does this have to do with… her?” Rey didn’t want to say her name, it made it more real.

“I told you it was a long story.” He muttered.  “There weren’t many Jedi left at the first massacre, when the Emperor and Vader rose to power. Some of them still fought in the rebellion, some faded away. From what I understand Obi Wan lived on Tatooine, watching Luke from a distance, protecting him. All the while Vader believed that his son had never been born, that Obi Wan his killed his wife before she gave birth.  After a few years, he realized that the Jedi order may never rise again and he relaxed on some of the beliefs he had been taught. He married a woman and had a daughter, Amara Kenobi. One day his wife and daughter went into town and never came back.  His wife was killed and his daughter…. Well Vader saw it as retribution, if his teacher would not allow him to have family he wouldn’t either.”

He paused turning his head to cough. This was the man he had been named after, the legacy which he had been living in the shadow of his whole life. “Amara was raised to be a Sith Lord, it was all she ever knew.”

“And after, when the Empire fell?” Rey breathed.

He shook his head. “It was my mother who met her first, on some planet near Bespin. She was trying to hold onto the Empire.” He looked wistful as if he himself regretted the things which he could not change. “But she met Luke, she managed to train with him, to change sides and see the goodness in the universe. Or so she claimed.” He paused looking at her regretfully.  “I don’t know if it had been the plan all along, if she had never truly gone to the light side. When I was little, there started to be bombings, attacks, a group called the First Order which was slowly beginning to take hold of planets and systems.”

She interrupted him. “But what does this have to do about _me_?”

He turned his head away from her, reminiscing in a casual voice. "I remember the day you were born. Your father always… well, he always kept up that stuffy air of a Jedi. But he could get so excited sometimes. I was bored out of my mind at the time, I had taken to braiding Chewbacca's hair and Luke comes running out of the room likes it’s on fire, with you in his arms. And my father panicked because he was afraid that Luke was going to drop you and...."  

“That’s not important right now…” She yelled at him.

He turned and looked at her. “Yes it is. Because your father loves you, he always has. And he was too blind to see that all you ever were to Amara, to your mother you were just another apprentice she could train.”

“So what?” She threw her arms up into the air “You hid me away and took my place instead?” She said her tone blasé.

“Yes.” He snapped.

She looked at him, wanting to shake her head in disbelief but she wasn’t able to bring herself to shame him. He was looking at her with such interest, with such sorrow in his eyes. He believed that everything that he had done was right, that the choices which her family had made to protect her were the right ones.

“He knew, your father, he knew of course. It was his idea but he needed to have deniability.” He said softly as he looked down at his hands once more.  “It was all done to protect you.”

She scoffed as she held up the stump of her right arm. “This is protecting me?” She said in disbelief as she looked at him with wide eyes. “I grew up in the foot of an AT-AT. I was hungry and scared my entire childhood. I scraped by on what I could, I relied on the kindness of a few strangers as I fought of those who wanted me to be their slave or worse. Do you know how many times I could have left? How many people who came through Nima Outpost who wanted to hire me as a pilot or a mechanic? But I stayed, because I was waiting for a family which was never coming back. I counted the days for fifteen years, and even when I left I was still desperate to get back. And then I met you.” She paused, her voice seething as she looked at him “You captured me, you tortured me, you tried to kill me and now you have cut off my hand. So tell me how was any of that a means of protection?”

“Is this what you would rather be?” He bellowed as he pounced forward on the bed towards her, growling at her like a Kath hound as he bared his teeth.

Rey leaned forward, staring into his eyes. There was a wildness in them, a desperation, an unstableness which she feared she too would adopt. “I saw into your mind.” She said in a hoarse voice. “You wanted to be like Darth Vader.”

He blinked. “I want to be like the man who turned on his teacher, who brought down the Empire.”

“Really?” She breathed skeptically as she looked at him. “So that’s why you turned to the Dark Side, to… to stop it?” She watched him nod in understanding. “To tear it up from the inside out.” He nodded once more and she just looked at him, not convinced. “You have tortured people; you have destroyed whole star systems you…. Killed you own father. And you want me to believe because it was you and not me, that somehow all those actions are better?”

“I would always let you win.” He said as he looked up at the ceiling with his eyes closed. “When we were little and you wanted to have duel, I always let you win…. But I didn’t… even at four years old you could have bested me.”

Rey swallowed, lacking in the memories of her own to known if he was lying or telling the truth. “What does that….”

“You were strong…powerful…” He leaned back against the bed his face falling into the shadows once more. “I was old enough to see her for who she was, old enough to resist her.”

“And did you?” She asked.

The man who for so long had been called Kylo Ren looked up at the ceiling. It had been something he had been asking himself for so long. Something which he had almost lied to himself about when he looked at reflection of the face he no longer recognized in the mirror. He wanted his actions to be justifiable to know that he was bring the first order to an end. But he could feel himself being dragged down into the politics of the order, being swept up in the magical speeches of Hux and the driven command of Phasma. It was becoming harder now to resist, to know which side he was standing on.

Part of him wanted to kill Rey in the temple, he had been fighting that urge fighting that desire. And when she had taunted him he found it impossible to control it any more. Jedi or Sith he had no control over his emotions he was a maniac with a laser sword that was all. He turned and looked at her, the woman who looked so much like his mother. Her hair was coming out of the three buns at the back of her head. He looked at the woman sitting gently cradling her right arm and saw the child she had once been. Part of him still wished her dead, it would make it easier.

“Killing you would have been the easy path.” He muttered as he looked at her. “And I am sorry for your hand, but I have a hard time… there are so many forces which are pulling at me.” He said his voice cracking as he looked closer at the mysterious woman she had become. “I’m not as strong as you are.”

She nodded finding it easy to agree with him on that statement. She stood, knowing that she had gotten as much information out of him that she could stomach for the moment. “What are our going to do with me?” He asked to her back.

“I don’t know.” She said as she stared at the metal door before her “Take you back to the Resistance I assume.”

“She will be looking for you now that she knows you are alive. You’re not safe anymore. You should let me go back to Amara. I’ll tell her I killed you, it will be safer for everyone. Let me finish my mission.”

Rey turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder. “And what am I supposed to do, go back to Jakku?” She asked in a scornful voice as the doors opened before her.

Rey stepped into the hallway and Jessika sprung away from the side of the wall rushing towards her with wide eyes and pulling her into a tight embrace. There were no words as the two women enjoy the comfort of one another. Rey could feel herself shaking against Jessika as she processed all the information which she had just learned. Their tight embrace seemed to last a very long time, until Rey finally pulled back and looked at Jessika.

“We need to leave, as soon as possible.”

Jessika nodded, “The boys are heading to the ship to make preparations.” She stepped back, revealing Finn and Poe both standing in the hallway as well. Both of them had changed out of their bloody clothes, even though Poe’s face was covered with scratches and Finn was leaning on him heavily.

“I’m going to go with them.” Rey said as she brushed past Jessika the only unharmed one among them and followed both men down the stairs and into the cool air outside. She had been drawn to this planet, she had wanted to see the world. But as she drew more and more out of the cave of isolation which had been Jakku she was only being more burned and blinded by the harsh reality of the world around her.

They walked down to the space port and the old ship which had become theirs. They stepped into the cargo hold, the large outline of the X-wing still taking up much space. Poe set about working on the ship, muttering something about using it as an escort just in case on their way back to the Resistance. Finn and Rey continued up the stairs to the cockpit.

She walked through the corridors, remembering the smiles and the laughs, the kisses and the arguments which had happened in the week that they all spent on this ship. It seemed like such as long time ago when in reality it had just been days. But planets could be destroyed in a matter of minutes and her life had been turned upside down in that amount of time as well.

As a child she had imagined that her family had left her on Jakku because they were running from the Hutts or some other crime family. In some of her more outlandish daydreams she had been a secret princess of a lost Planet or the heir to a large fortune. There were still things she remembered from time to time. Sentences, words, quotes which she couldn't ever remember hearing in her lifetime but they still rang out I her ears like de ja vu. Words and phrases which hadn’t even been spoken in her lifetime and ye they ran out in her brain from time to time _. You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon, it's the ship that made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs._ Now she knew why the voices of the past echoed in her head. She didn’t know if the reality was better or worse than what she had dreamed of.

She wasn’t nobody anymore. She was a Jedi, she was a Skywalker, she was a Kenobi. Her mother was the one who was trying to take over the Galaxy and her Aunt was the one trying to stop her. She had a family, a family that was at war with one another.

Rey could feel her breath tightening once more as the implications hit her. She was never going to have a mother who loved her, she was going to have a mother who would to her best to try and kill her. Her father had kept his distance both from her and the rest of the galaxy. Her cousin was wavering between the light and dark sides of the Force, her aunt was trying to keep a galaxy together while fighting a war. And she was a part of it now, she was more important than ever.

She felt the tears rolling down her face as her mind began to race. She wanted to go back to being no one. She didn’t want the weight of generations worth of heroics and heartbreak. Rey slide down onto the floor, crying large heaping sobs as she pulled her legs in closer to herself.

Finn stopped, looking down at her. He bent down and sat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulder. He didn’t know the whole story; he didn’t know everything that she did but she was his friend.

“Rey, hey.. is alright.” He whispered as he pulled her closer to her, his arm rubbing up and down her back.

Chosen one, that was what had been expected of them all. Anakin was supposed to be the chosen one but he turned to the dark side because he wanted save his wife. Luke was supposed to be the chosen one, and he did manage to bring some balance to the Force until he was betrayed by his wife. Was she the new chosen one now, or had that been the expectation placed on Ben Solo when he had been born. And Jessika, if she had any reservations of starting a relationship with Jessika a week ago she had even more now that she knew her family’s history with torn marriages.

“Rey… you’re going to be fine.” Finn replied once more as he tried to comfort her

But she turned and looked at him shaking her head. “I’m finding that hard to believe.” She stammered as she looked at him with teary eyes.

“You made it this far right?” He was smiling at her, with a grin of pure energy trying to cheer her up. “I know it’s hard, this thing of being alive. But there are some good things that come out of it.”

She looked at Finn and nodded. There was nothing she could do to change the circumstances of what had happened to her when she was younger, but her future was something she could control.

Rey wiped at the tears at her face and stood slowly, allowing Finn to help her up as they made their way to the cockpit and sat down at the navigational controls.

She tapped at a few buttons, finding it frustratingly difficult to only type with one hand, forcing herself to go slowly to not make mistakes as her mind wanted to fly across the in her usual fashion. But soon the image of General Organa was before her on the screen.

The face of Leia Organa fell with concern as she looked at Rey and Finn. The pair of them both visibly battered and withdrawn.

“Rey.” She croaked out in a low voice, her hand rising as if trying to touch the woman light-years away from her.

“General.” Rey said as she sniffed, talking a deep breath. “We are preparing to leave Dantooine.”

Leia blinked. “So soon?”

Rey nodded. “We have captured a high ranking member of the First Order and believe that bringing him back to base would compromise the integrity of the Resistance. We would like to know where you would like meet us, somewhere preferably in our side of the galaxy.”

Leia gave her a sharp nod. There was something in the squirm of her face as she looked at Rey that showed how well she understood the severity of the situation. “I’ll ask Luke.” She said as she stood, disappearing out of frame.

Rey lowered her arms down to her side, making sure that neither her hand nor her stump could be seen as the siblings appeared once more on the video screen.

_Why didn’t you tell me?_ The words flashed in her brain once more as she looked into the weary eyes of Luke Skywalker. _There were so many opportunities in which you could have told me the truth._ But she didn’t vocalize any of those concerns as she looked at him now. She tried to smile as Finn and Luke both talked about planets to meet up on.

“We can be one of the moons of Mandalore in a day.” Finn began. “But it would take you quite a while to….”

“Don’t worry about that, we can be there only few hours after you.” Leia cut in to their conversation. “How many troops should we bring.?” Leia asked

“None.” Rey said sharply. “It’s not safe.”  She met eyes with Luke and he turned his head away as if he knew that she had learned the truth and was ashamed in the manner in which she had learned.

“Rey.” Leia began her face forlorn as she looked at the muddied and bloodied clothes which the woman before her was wearing. “Who is the high ranking officer.”

Rey looked down at what had been her hand, and taking a shaky breath as she looked up at the woman before her. Leia was gazing upon her with such kind and concerned eyes. “Han’s mission had been completed.”

**

They walked down the stairs in the darkness of night. Rey so painfully aware of her missing hand as she reached out to grab a railing find the stump of her harm hitting upon it hard. She watched the head of the captured man before her bob up and down as he was carried down the steps with Finn and Poe both doing their best to tightly hold onto his arms. Jessika was behind her, carrying several packs over her shoulder.

They all made their way towards the Zabrak, his face made paler than normal in the bright light from the lantern he was holding in one hand. in the other the shadow of a small box could be seen. He said nothing as he watched Finn and Poe limping down the stairs with their prisoner as they walked out of the tavern and into the night quickly scurrying to the ship. Rey and Jessika stopped and looked at the man who had helped them to the best of his abilities. He pulled out the small box and handed it to Rey.

“I got as many of the parts as I could.” He said gently as he looked at her. There was something in his red eyes, almost a tinge of regret as if he wished he was not looking into the face of such sorrow before him.

She nodded as she took it from him and placed it under the crook of her arm. “Thank you.” She breathed her voice echoing off the empty walls. “Please let us know if you are ever in the need of any assistance.

“Likewise.” He replied with a wink.

Rey said noting as she made her way past him. She wanted to apologize for bringing him into this. For bringing them all into something which they didn’t really understand or have a way of dealing with. Go to Dantooine and see what the planet has to offer. She wondered if Luke had known what he was sending her to do. How one weary vision could change everything that she knew of the universe.

But as the women stepped out into the windy night they didn’t let such thoughts cloud their heads as they ran down the dusty street of a mostly forgotten planet which would likely never know about the role which it played in the fight for the galaxy. They moved quickly afraid of being seen by sleep filled eyes of the distant howls of Kath hounds. The stars ahead were shining in brightly but the crisp wind which howled through the grasses made the walk with a sense of urgency towards the ship Bay as they could sense the storm at their backs.

They ran up the gangway, Jessika throwing their packs to the floor as they both stepped aside as Poe fired up the engines of the X-wing. The smell of engine fumes assaulted them as the fighter pulled out of the cargo bay and soared into the atmosphere. Rey punched the control panel and closed the hangar door as Jessika set off at a run towards the cockpit. She watched her run up the stairs, the memories of the happy times in this ship impossible to forget.

Finn was standing alone by the medbay, his face long. “I’ll take first watch.” He said flatly as he turned back towards the empty store rooms which had now become a brig. “You get some sleep.” He said as he limped away.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Rey reached down into the drawer, pulling out the small vial and pressing it into her leg. The needle stung as it surged down into her thigh. She held onto the syringe with her only hand as she moved her body up against the cabinet to use the leverage to push the plunger down. There was an instant relief as the stimulant began to course through her veins, a comforting sense that she was rested and whole as she sighed happily before pulling out the device and placing it back into a drawer.

Jessika hadn’t see her inject the stimulants into herself, Rey had made sure of that. The other woman was positioned against the far counter, slowly unboxing all the technical supplies which Rey had managed to gather on Dantooine to help her build what Jessika could only assume was a new hand for herself in the short period of time it would take them to get to the rendezvous point. She placed the small bits of wires and multicolored gears and rods down on the table, not knowing their purpose or how they would all work together, but knowing it was all that she could do to help in the endeavor.

“Karablast.” Rey let out in a hushed whisper behind her.

Jessika turned to see her looking down at her knuckles, the reddened and raw skin was slowly being covered with a smear of vibrant red blood. Rey reached down and wiped away at the wound which had become opened on her hand with her cheek, but as soon as the blood was smeared away it began to appear once more.

She watched as it trickled down into the small lines of her skin, blooming out like a crimson maze with no end. The pattern was almost beautiful, in an abstract sort of manner. The flow of blood began to slow down as she looked down at the force of life which was inside of her, the trail of tiny particles which kept her alive, whose genetic information provided without a doubt the confirmation of who she really was.

Rey leaned against the wall of the medical bay as the truth hit her once more in a wave which was determined to push her down. This was the substance that would prove who she was, of the heroes and villains of whom she was related to. It was inescapable, the truth flowed right through her and now it was impossible for her to turn her had away and try to ignore it.

“Here.” Jessika was placing a bandage on her hand. On the hand of the woman who was related to Darth Vader, on the hand of the woman whose mother was destroying the universe. “You should get some rest.” Jessika added as she looked at her with kind concern in her eyes.

Rey shook her head; rest was impossible now that her body was pulsing with the stimulants she had injected into herself, but Jess didn’t know that.

“Well I’m going to get some sleep.” She said, her voice so melodic and frivolous.

Jessika began to move out of the medical bay, trying to keep her thoughts to herself. Lying to herself and saying that everything was okay. This was just a normal mission, that was what she needed to tell herself to make it through this moment and the next. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rey looking back down at her own dried blood, her mind lost in thoughts which Jessika was too afraid to learn.

She looked over her shoulder “I still love you Rey, no matter what.” Jessika whispered as the door sealed shut behind her, its clang ringing out with finality.

 

 

**

There were so many questions that Finn had as he looked at the man before him. He didn’t know which one to ask first. Did he know about who Finn really was. Did he have access to the data files to see which planet he had been taken from as a child? Was he really someone to be trusted? The thoughts were racing through Finn’s mind as he looked at the man who was sitting in one of the extra jumpsuits which Jess had brought. It was far too short on his lengthy frame and his exposed ankles were pale and spindly.

“Orange isn’t really your color, is it?” Finn laughed inappropriately.

BB-8 gave a sharp whistle and he looked down at the droid in confusion. Finn furrowed its brow as it continued beeping far too rapidly for him to understand it.

“He’s telling you to lock the door.” Came the hoarse voice of the captive.

Finn hit the control panel locking the door and looked down at the dark haired man, tilting his head. “You can understand him?” Finn breathed curiously.

He scoffed as he leaned his head back against the metal wall. “I grew up with a Wookie of course I can understand a droid.”

Finn said nothing in reply as he felt the ship jolt as they burst through the atmosphere and promptly jumped to light speed. He thought about Poe all alone in his X-wing for hours. Finn wondered if he would get bored, what would he do to pass the time as he sat in the small cramped cockpit of the ship unable to stretch out his legs or move around.

He wished that he could at least talk to his boyfriend in the hours that they were separated, just hearing his voice would be a small enough comfort as they jumped into the unknown. They had spent longer amounts of time apart, Poe had gone on several missions while they had both been stationed at the Resistance base, some of them lasting nearly a week. But this time everything felt darker.

Finn sighed as he pulled out his blaster, pointing it at the man ahead of him as he slid down to sit across from him in the empty storage room.

“Still a solider I see.”

Finn narrowed his eyes at him. “Yeah well at least I get to make my own choices now.” He shot back.

The man across from him looked down at his hands, for a moment Finn wondered with a panic if he was capable of breaking the restraints apart with just his mind. “It was Hux’s choice to use conditioned troops on the Starkiller.”

“And that is supposed to justify the entire process that the First Order has of brainwashing people to become their foot soldiers?”

“No, that’s why I prefer cloned troops or recruits even.” Finn looked at him, holding back a scoff of disbelief.

He looked at him, shaking his head holding back from saying anything more strongly worded than: “Are you trying to defend yourself to me?”

“No.” The scared man replied looking down at his hands once more as he swallowed the silence between the two men filled with the soft humming of the droid. “It’s just that I understand to a certain extent the process of being taken away from the lifestyle you were accustomed to.”

Finn looked at him, his mouth agape as he made for certain what the man before him was implying. Being taken away from one’s family when you were an infant was far different from leaving when you were a petulant angst filled teen. “Say all you want but you’re the one who chose to become a Sith Lord.” Finn snapped.

The captured man slowly raised his head to look up at Finn. His face was swimming with emotions. Finn had always heard whispers of how volatile he was. Prone to outbursts and destruction at the slightest variance from his desired outcomes. Word had spread quickly around the base, Finn himself had cleaned up the messes as the man behind the mask came to be avoided for the fear of the unpredictable. All that time, he had never seen the eyes behind the silver grates now Finn looked at the dark eyes which were filled with his characteristic instability.

“Yes, your right.” He said as he looked at Finn. “That was the life that I choose, and I’m choosing not to be a part of it anymore, so you can lower that blaster.” Finn shook his head. He wanted to believe the man ahead of him, and even if he did he wasn’t going to lower his defenses. “What do you want? To know about your family? There is no record of who you were before.” Finn felt his stomach drop as he continued on. “Do you want assurances, promises, riches…. protection?”

Finn slowly nodded as he feared the man was getting inside of his head. “I’m a deserter, is the First Order going to come after me.”

He let out a small laugh as he shook his head. “You’re not exactly top priority.” He paused and looked at Finn. “Don’t worry you can go off and live whatever life you want to now.”

Finn shook his head in disagreement. “No, I’m going to fight. I’m going to help The Resistance.”

“Why?” His voice cracked as he looked at the man who was refusing to take the escape route which was in front of him. The former Jedi couldn’t understand why he would fight against the darkness when every victory was not a certainty.

Because Finn had fallen in love with a man who had been fighting his whole life, because he had left one army and been embraced by another. The Resistance had welcomed him, not just because of the strategy and skills, but because it had been a rag tag group for decades. There were men and women and creatures who had been fighting against the Sith and its influence when the army was called the Republic and they were fighting against the Separatists. And decades later they were still at war, fighting for those freedoms. The Republic, the Rebel Alliance, the Resistance it was generations who kept of fighting for the freedom of all. It was something worth fighting for and that was why Finn wasn’t willing to walk away from it.

“You don’t think I can understand the appeal of it all? I grew up with it.” The man before him replied as Finn looked at him silently. “My parents were war heroes, I heard every story imaginable about every planet and species that they saved from the Empire, of my Grandmother uniting systems during the Republic. But the reality of it all will never be as glamorous as the idea. Because war is filled with sacrifices and bloodshed.” He said as he leaned forward and looked at Finn with his dark eyes tearing up.

Finn leaned back, running his tongue across his lips as he looked at his captive. “You’re the one who made those choices that you can barely live with now. I saw you kill him… you didn’t have to kill Han Solo. You could have let him live and come with us then instead of now.”

He leaned forward even more as he looked into Finn’s face. “I have spent nearly my whole life following directions of a woman whom I hate. Of a woman who I am afraid every time that I speak to her will see that I am trying to undermine her. My father is a hero, who knows that sometime we are just smaller parts of a bigger plan. He walked onto that bridge knowing…. knowing that.”

His jaw was twitching as he leaned back against the metal wall closing his eyes and breathing softly as he refused to look Finn in the eyes again. Finn could have sworn there was regret in his face, or maybe it was just a trick of the light.

They sat like that for hours, sitting across from one another, neither man talking to one another as their bodies grew stiffer and stiffer until finally there was a knock of the door.

Finn stood, letting out a small groan as he felt the pain awaken in his stiff legs as he stood and opened the door. He looked into the face of Jessika. “It’s my turn to stand sentinel.” She said softly as she stepped inside of the room taking the blaster gently from his hands.

He looked and he and nodded, relieved at the idea of spending some time out of this room. “Have fun staring at stone.” Finn muttered as he cocked his head indicating for the ball droid to follow after him.

“You should take care of that leg.” Jessika muttered as she looked at the leg which he was unconsciously putting as small amount of weight on as possible.

“It’s not like I can soak it in a vat of Bacta.” Finn grunted as he shuffled down the corridor.

Jessika looked at him with a motherly condescension urging him to stop into the medbay which he was about to walk by. “At least we don’t have a medical droid on board.” Finn stopped and looked at her his face asking her if she was truly serious. “Hey, I can’t be the only one in the galaxy who thinks those droids are terrifying.” She shouted after him.

But Finn shuffled off leaving her all alone with the man who was still sitting against the wall with his eyes closed. Jessika rolled her eyes closing the door behind her looking down at the dark eyed man before her.

With the exception of the past few hours she had only known of him via reputation. She had never seen him other than in official images. Even then it wasn’t his real face, it was the imposing man in the mask. She had heard tales of Kylo Ren from other pilots in the Resistance, telling their tales about how they had just narrowly escaped his clutches. Thought they were often tales which she had felt were highly embellished. Yet all accounts painted him in the same colors of a brooding man who was quick to terrorize and hurt others.

It had never been confirmed to her, the rumors of his parentage. The pilots and others whom she had encountered had always whispered about how the son of two such war legends had upturned everything his parents had fought for. Even on the base, the name Kylo Ren was never mentioned, perhaps as a curiosity to the general who they fought for. She didn’t have to ask him or anyone else to confirm the rumors which she had always known to be true as she looked down at the man who was avoiding her gaze, she knew they were all true.

She had been terrified down in the temple, from the moment she had heard Finn come screaming over the comms she had begun to fear for her life as well as Rey’s. It was different sort of fear than the kind which inhibited her soul when she was flying. When she was up in the air, in battle with TIE fighters she knew that any death she had would be a rallying call or a sacrifice made for strategical matters. Up in the air she had control over her mortality, she could outmaneuver death, but down in the temple her fate had been out of her hands.

Jessika reached down into her pocket and pulled out a small food ration holding it out in the distance between them. His shackled hands raised up and took it pulling it close to his face as he looked up and met the eyes of the pilot.

“How did you possibly get involved in this?” He inquired as he looked up at her.

“Your mom.” She replied flatly.

His lips curled up in a small smile before he caught himself. “No really, why fight for the Resistance?”

Jessika looked at him, doing her best not to break in front of him. It seemed like such a simple question and yet she was afraid of the reputation of the man who was asking it, fearing it was more than a simple question. “Because I care. I care about the universe that I live in and the people in it. And I care about Rey.”

He took a bite of the grey bar of nutrition. “I noticed.” She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. He looked at her and smiled. It was a strange smile, like the artistic rendering of someone who had never seen a true look of encouragement. “She’s told you everything hasn’t she?”

Jessika nodded as she looked down at the blaster in her hand. Part of her wanted to fire at him, stun him at least so that she didn’t have to talk to him. It wasn’t his job to spoil the truth for Rey. To Jessika he had no part in the story. He had no right to break her hopes and dreams of the family which she had longed for. But the damage was already done.

“Yes, she did.” Jessika replied as she looked at him.

“Aren’t you worried?” He muttered as he continued to chew away at the bar.

“For her?” She said quickly

He shook his head, a clever through apparent on his face. “For yourself.” He asked vainly. “Loving a Skywalker is a sure way to die.”

Jessika took a step forward raising the blaster at him feeling the anger rise up within her and she looked down at him her body filling with hatred.

His face snapped into another emotion entirely, “Don’t do that.” He whispered compassionately as he looked at her. “Don’t give into the hate.”

She felt her jaw drop as a harsh sound escaped her throat. “What right do you have to tell me such a thing when all you have done is hate?”

He looked at her shaking his head his dark hair swishing from side to side. “I didn’t hate the Resistance; I did hate the Force. I pretended to hate it all, to tear it apart from the inside out. But I’m never going to be able to prove that to you, am I?”

Jessika shook her head as she lowered the blaster slightly. “No I don’t think you will be able to convince me.”

He looked down at his bare hands, rubbing his fingers together as he looked down at them. Jessika began to slowly pace around the room, like an animal being held captive in a small cage. She wasn’t going to believe any of his story until she heard the same facts come out of the lips of someone older and wiser than either of them. It seemed to convenient, to coincidental. But then again somehow it seemed to all make poetic sense to her.

Jessika continued to pace, aware of time passing slowly as the prisoner at her feet continued to look down at his hands in silence. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes, trying to see the resemblance between him and his mother. She had known the General for years, she was sharp witted and not to be crossed. And yet she could be kind and generous, caring and devoted to the people who had sworn their alliance to her. It seemed impossible to Jessika that this could be her son, that this could be the child which she had raised. How could someone related to General Organa make such choices with their life, unless his tale of choosing the dark side to save the galaxy was true. 

“I did it for her.” He whispered softly. “For Rey. She was like a sister to me, I loved her.  She was barely old enough to make up her own decisions and her mother was already dragging her down the path to the dark side. I was saving her.”

Jessika bent down on the balls of her feet and looked into his scared face. “Maybe you were saving that little girl. But the woman I love is capable of saving herself.”

He closed his eyes, unsatisfied. “Maybe from smugglers and criminals but she doesn’t understand the power of the Dark Side.”

Jessika leaned in closer to him, “And that’s your goal teach her about the threat of the Dark Side?” She shook her head as she looked at him. “Maybe you should have chosen a different approach.”

**

Finn walked into the medbay to see Rey leaning over the counter, blinking away the exhaustion as she looked at the gears and parts in front of her. “What are you doing?” He asked.

She turned and looked at him sharply, her hand reaching up to scratch her forehead. She looked far worse than she had when she had still been unconscious. There was a mental element to her dishevelment, she wasn’tjust broken in body but in spirit as well.

Rey looked down at the gears and shook her head in frustration. If she had been on Jakku she would have had to make herself a new hand without any help. In fact, she was almost surprised that after a decade of scavenging wreckages she had never managed to injure herself seriously. If she had been all alone she would have struggled to make herself a new hand without any assistance, but she wasn’t alone anymore.

She knew that Finn would tell her to wait until some medical droid had looked at her arm and given her a new hand. There was no reason to make one herself when she could easily get a new one with little effort. But nothing had ever been given to her in the life which she had led so far.

She had enough parts, she was capable of building it herself, in fact she could imagine the many modifications in her mind easily. “Are you trying to make a hand?” Finn asked aghast as he hobbled towards her.

“I can do it.” She said with a perceptible stubbornness in her voice.

Finn took a step back as he raised his hands in surrender. “I’m sure that you can.” He looked around at the drawers which she had riffled through, ever still the scavenger as she turned to contemplated the fragments. “Have you seen the bacta?”

Her left arm twisted around and she pointed behind her at a drawer. Finn shuffled towards it, pulling out a large jar of the gelatinous liquid. He sighed loudly as he sat down on the chair, unscrewing the jar and stretching down to place the bacta on his leg. He let out a groan as he felt the nerves in his back spasm as he bent over. Silently cursing the man who was siting just a few feet away from him he looked at the back of Rey’s head.

“Can you help me?” He asked softly as he struggled to place the cool liquid on the entire length of his leg. She turned around as he held up the jar, she placed her hand in and began to spread the slimy liquid over his leg.

It was impossible not to look at the stump where her hand had been. The metal brace had been placed on it protecting the raw red flesh beneath it waiting for the hand which she was undoubtedly making to take its place on her hand. It was strange to think that twenty-four hours ago her hand had been there. He had watched her fingers deftly fly ships and manipulate circuit boards, and now she was doing her best not to struggle spreading bacta over his leg.

He watched up at her face which was twisted in concentration as she got used to using her non-dominant hand. It moved slower, not always listening to the commands which her brain was giving it. Her frustration was clear on her face, as well as her exhaustion. He wondered if she had slept for more than a few hours since they had camped by the swamp of Dantooine. He could see her blinking away sleep with her eyes as she looked down at his leg, the peaceful, slightly hallucinogenic properties of the medicine beginning to affect them both.

“Rey.” Finn breathed as he reached out and grabbed her free forearm. “Go get some sleep.”

 She shook her head as she stepped way, wiping her hand clean on her pant leg. “I’ve work to do.”

“You’re fatigued. All you’re going to do is make mistakes, you know that.” He said as he looked at her sweetly.  Rey lowered her head in defeat. “Sleep isn’t going to hurt you.”

“I…. I know.” Rey whispered as she looked back at the parts laying on the counter knowing there was nothing useful she could do for the time being.

She took a heavy step forward as she walked out of the medbay and back up the stairs to the room which had been hers. She stepped into the room, looking at the wide bed, it hardly seemed familiar to her as she sat down and closed her eyes.

But she couldn’t sleep, it evaded her as images, either dreams or visions seemed to flash behind her closed eyes. They all seemed to vivid, so nightmarish, she willed them each away trying to think of something pleasant. Once the idea of an island in the ocean had brought her sleep, now the images of those islands which she had walked on only brought her questions and strife.

She sat up on the bed, reaching across for a datapad and began to flick through the factual records of planets. She read the basic information on climates and wildlife, of planetary cycles and languages spoken. She looked at each of the planets. Surely she had traveled to in her youth: Coruscant, Tattoine, Corellia, Yavin, the moons of Endor. She looked at the images, trying to turn them into memories. But the images turned to sand in her hands as all she could remember was the longing the lonely little girl had felt on Jakku.

Rey laid down on the bed, trying to clear her mind as she focused on her breathing. In and out the air flowed through her as if nothing was wrong, she was still alive, she was still functioning. This would all pass, these were just hindrances and distractions which were passing by in her life. Living wasn’t easy, but she had managed so far.

She closed her eyes, not summing to sleep but rather a deep sense of the state of herself and her own body. After a long period of time she felt the body of Jessika slip down next to her in the bed. It was still impossible for her to sleep, even with Jessika lying beside her. Both woman sat on the bed looking up at the metal above them saying nothing as they silently prayed for the sleep which never came to take over them. It was impossible to calm their minds, to try and rest in the few more hours which it would take for them to get to the moon of Concordia.

Rey shifted in the bed, sitting up and propping herself up on her elbows. “I’m going to go talk to him.”

Jessika sat up, biting her lip. “I don’t want to you.” She said firmly. Rey turned and looked at her, not hurt but rather surprised by the strong will of character that Jessika was showing “I worried that if you talk to him… that he’ll do something to your mind. That he’ll hurt you.”

“He already has” She breathed as she stood up, picking up the small box which the innkeeper and given her and placing it under her shoulder as she took up her lightsaber in her hand.

Jessika stood and took the three paces needed to cross the room, she leaned in closely, not knowing where to place her hands until she finally settled on slipping them around Rey’s waist. She leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Please be careful.” She breathed.

Rey walked back down to the medbay collecting the small amount of supplies which she had left sitting on the counter and then to the storage room. She nocked and waited for Finn to open the door.

He looked at her surprised. “It’s my turn.” She said softly as she brushed past him.

“You sure?” He asked with a wavering voice.

Rey nodded waiting until he had left before she crouched down and placed the box of electrical bits down on the ground before her and began sorting them and placing them into piles before she put together a small soldering iron.

“What are you doing?” He asked her, almost afraid that the answer was that she was planning on torturing him.

Rey reached across and pressed the small button on his restraints to undo them. “You’re going to help me.” She said firmly as she leaned back indicating to the gears and wires on the floor.

His eyes moved to the doorway behind her. “Or I could escape.”

“That would be a pretty stupid thing to do.” Rey said with a shrug of her shoulder. “You know that both Jess and Finn would kill you if given the chance.”

He met her eyes, understanding the position that he was in. “What are we doing?”

“Making me a hand.”  She replied as she continued to arrange the pieces until they began to take shape into distinct fingers and a palm.  She handed him the small soldering tool and began to instruct him on which pieces to wield together.

They worked in silence, the only words between them the instructions which Rey gave as the mechanical hand slowly began to form. It was a dozen different colors and filled with wires which stuck out. But over the course of a few hours there were distinguishable fingers.

“You know you don’t have to do this, there are premade hands.” He said as he watched her testing out each of the black, gold and silver fingers making sure that it could bend in the correct positions.

She looked up at him her brown hair covering her face. It had long since fallen out of her buns and she had left it handing around her shoulders. She exhaled blowing a few strands away from her face as she narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do. This is what I have been doing my entire life. Making do with whatever I could possibly find as scraps.” She said vehemently as she turned her head down to the mechanics at her feet.

He stoped working once more. “You have a mind for this don’t you. Mechanical things, they make sense to you?”

“Obviously.” She muttered as she rolled her eyes at him.

“I don’t.” He paused as he bit at his lip, looking at her with an embarrassed expression which she did not see. “I was never good at technical things, especially flying. And believe me my father tried to teach me how to fly before I could walk.” He paused finding it difficult to talk about his father. “Did you ever meet him?”

Rey looked up at him, bewildered that he had forgotten. “After I left Jakku. He took me to Maz Kanta’s palace. He offered me a job.” She wondered if he had done it all to protect her. If Han had lived long enough, surely he would have told her the truth when the time was right.

“He likes you a lot. When you were little-” He replied animatedly.

“Liked.” She corrected him as she looked down at the hand which was nearly complete. “He liked me a lot.”

His face was blank. “Yeah, liked.” Rey looked up at him, he was almost… he looked like a child about to cry as he realized he would never see his father again. It was as if he had forgotten that he had killed him.

Rey reached out her left hand very slowly, afraid to touch him as she placed it on his shoulder. She took a deep breath, almost afraid to say the name aloud “Ben?” She whispered hopefully.

He looked up at her, “Rey”.

“Can you…” She paused listening to the echoes of her shaking voice against the metal walls. “Can you give me back those memories which you took from me when you dropped me off on Jakku?”

He nodded slowly. “Why would you want them?” He asked, genuinely not understanding.

“Because when I was all alone I dreamed of a family that loved me.” She said warm tears rolling down her cheeks as he looked at him.

He shifted towards her placing both his hands on her forehead as he whispered softly. “Your name is Rey Skywalker and you were born on Coruscant.”

Images flashed before her eyes, glimpses of moments and sounds of voices. ‘ _Rey get down from there you’ll break your neck’._ A simple apartment with wide windows which looked out over the sprawling city.  ‘ _All right kid, let’s see what you can do.’_ She was running down a hallway chasing after R2-D2 who was squealing loudly. ‘ _It’s alight, don’t worry I won’t be gone for long.’_ She felt so small as she looked up at the vast senate hall. ‘ _And then your father and I looked in the face of Jabba the Hutt and told him to…’_ She was running through a forest laughing with Ben. ‘ _Be careful when you are holding that lightsaber.’_ Her mother was looking at her as she held onto her, soothing her crying. ‘ _Don’t worry nothing can hurt you now.’_ Her father was handing her his lightsaber as she grasped it in her small hands.

She opened her eyes and looked into the face of the man who had left her half a lifetime ago on a small planet for her own protection. “Thank you.” She whispered as she wiped away at her tears with the back of her sleeve. She looked down at the finished mechanical hand sitting on the floor “I need you to attach it for me.” She added.

He picked up the hand and lowered it down onto the brace on her arm. It made a small hiss as it attached, the wires buzzed. Rey looked at the hand concentrating hard making the fingers slowly move, able to control them but lacking in any sensation. It would do for now, until she was able to make something better.

She looked at Ben, who had leaned back against the wall placing his hands out to be bound once more, but she gently shook her head. “You should have let me go back to Amara.”

“Without my dead body she would have killed you.” Rey replied uncomfortably knowing that the mother she had dreamed of loving her was nothing of the sort.

“She’ll still try.”

“You were supposed to stop her, why haven’t you? Why have you waited for so long to betray her?” Ben said nothing as he looked down at his feet, his head heavy.

Something caught in her chest, as if her heart had suddenly stopped beating as the realization hit her with such a force.  “Because you don’t think you can anymore. You think you’ve given in too much.” Rey whispered sensing the shame and disappointment that he felt towards himself.

“I don’t have control anymore, I hurt you. I chopped off your hand.” He said gesturing to her hand.

“At least you didn’t kill me.” She said gently

“I killed my father.” He said firmly as he looked up at her, his instability clear across his face once more. “I had the choice and I killed him.” The regret was consuming him, tearing him apart. He had been able to justify so many of the choices which he had made in order to turn the First Order apart from the inside out, but it was a turning point which haunted as he was cursed by his ability to say no to a command.

“Then help make it right.” Rey whispered as she looked up at him. “Help make his death worth something, help me stop the Dark Side once and for all.”

“No one trusts me.” He looked at her with exasperation.

“I trust you, and for now that’s all we need.”


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgggg... I apologize for the wait. It's never fun when your computer dies on you....

It was pouring down rain as they landed the Mandelorian moon of Concordia. The green grass hills and valleys slowly becoming flooded with water from the skies as life continued on. The droids out in the fields continued to harvest their crops. Children still ran playing at their games of make believe as starships flew overhead unnoticed like a common crow. One of those ships, one of the many with falsified landing permits and identification, nestled down in a rain soaked valley the crew within not stirring as the engines powered down.

The large hanger door opened with a slow hiss as the small Starfighter which had been following in the larger ships wake pulled into the cargo hold. The great door closed with a soft clank behind the X-wing as its pilot released himself from the small enclosed space. His feet echoed against the metal as he climbed his way up the staircases to the control room of the ship. Wordlessly he sat down beside the other man, giving him a flash of a smile. Yet his normal charm and charisma was lost on the dark thoughts which were pervading all of their minds.

The solider was awaiting his next order, wondering if he had enough courage to deny his leaders. Life was fragile and fleeting and the future he wanted with the man sitting beside him would only be possible if they both lived through all the combat. But they said nothing to one another, expressing their anxiety in the slight rises of their shoulders as the rain hit down upon the metal hull like asteroids a nanosecond away from shattering glass.

The other pilot was standing guard, her hand resting on the weapon at her hip as she looked down at the man sitting on the floor.  She didn’t know what to think of him, one minute he was talking sense the other he was yelling out of control like a child. His attempts to help their situation seeming nothing but feeble. She was mad that he had injured the woman she loved, that he was judging her based on the assumptions of the child he had once known. She herself had been naive when she had joined this mission. Too eager to rub shoulders with the heroes, to make her name be know. Now she would be tied in this war forever. There was no leaving, not when those she loved were still fighting.

He wasn’t in shackles anymore but he wasn’t free either. He shifted from time to time, knowing that they had landed that he would soon be seeing faces which he had avoided for years. The faces of people he had once loved and hated. He didn’t know what to think of them now, his own brain was only beginning to awaken to his own free thoughts. He used to see the world in absolutes, failure or successes, but it wasn’t right anymore.

The scavenger was sitting on the floor of the med bay. She moved her hands, trying to mirror the motions. She squeezed her hands, becoming frustrated as the false set of fingers lagged. She didn’t want someone to reward her with a hand, she didn’t want help or assistance. She had gone almost her whole life supporting herself and figuring out things on her own, she could continue on in that line of thought. She held up her right hand, fingers spread like claws as she rose them high above her head. The anbaric light resting like the golden glow of a torch in the metal talons if she squinted the right way.

The only conscious sounds was the small droid buzzing from place to place like a pet wondering why everyone was brooding in silent rage any ignoring them.

They were all pondering the same thing, was this a war that could be won? Could the evil, that existed not just in the galaxy, but in them as well ever be fully defeated. There would always be moments of angry and passion, hatred and fear. The emotions were not something which could ever be quelled regardless of how much a holy life on tried to lead. Maybe if everyone lived in isolation there could be peace, but that was impractical.

The signal came after they had spent hours in silent contemplation. They assembled in the hold, bruised and sore looking at one another with contempt and support as the ramp lowered. Two figures in hoods were making their way through the soggy field, the jagged outline of the Millennium Flacon casting a larger than necessary shadow over the valley. The siblings stopped, waiting for the group of young adventures to join them out on the planet.

It stung more than one of them to see the ship which had both taken and given liberties in their lives. The broken and bloodied those who had braved the temple of Dantooine stepped out into the downpour. The sun was shining a warm yellow glow upon the green planet as the silver rain came down sideways.

 _The Sith lords apprentice is crying._ Poe remembered the idiom which he heard his father mutter countless times. He looked down at his feet, knowing it wasn’t the right time to smile as he tugged onto the arm of the man between him and Jessika who was digging his feet into the ground. Stubbornly refusing to inch closer towards his mother now that he could begin to make out the scowl on her face.

Rey’s feet sank into the wet ground, soaking her boots as she allowed Finn to lean against her, each labored step he took accompanied by a staggering breath. She only looked up briefly at the two figures standing at the other end of the field. Part of her wanted to run back to the ship and hide, to take it and keep on running until she couldn’t run any more.  The rain was running down her back. In all the stories she had read as a child rain had the poetic properties to cleanse one of their past, but as she continued forward she didn’t feel changed by the downpour.

For as long as she could remember the only thing she desired was a place to belong. She scratched off the days on the walls of the home she had made for herself hoping that with each coming day someone would come back for her and embrace her in their arms once more. Smugglers had begged her to join their crew, traders had offered her mechanics and pilots positions. How many ships had been sitting along Niima Outpost, left unlocked and vulnerable could she have just taken? But Rey had stayed, remaining loyal to an idea which had been placed in her head when she was a little girl. She had to wait for her family to come back, and now they had.

Luke looked at them, his heart panging as he looked at the group, only Pava seemed physically uninjured. He had spent so many years of his isolation trying to pinpoint what went wrong and how he could fix it all. It had been hopeless to assume that he could change a galaxy, he was only one person. Regardless of how many allies he had, destruction was easy, rebuilding was harder. So Luke made the choice to take himself out of the equation, to let the idea of Jedi Knights be forgotten once again.

All those years, with only his thoughts as his friends had turned half his mind against himself. How could he have been so foolish to think that he was capable of bringing back the Jedi when he himself had never been a real one. Regardless of how much he read or how many temple ruins he had seen his choice to revive the organization like it once was had been foolish. It had all slipped through his fingers, everything he had created and nearly everyone he cared for destroyed and lost.

He had been surprised when he heard the ship flying towards the island, the familiar outline warming his heart with hope at the possibility of seeing his sister of his best friend once again. But when he turned around…. He had known who she was in an instant, the sheer presence of the bright smiling girl he had held in his arms so many years ago. Anger and infuriation had greeted him like an old friend as he looked at her encouraging face.

Then Rey had held out the old lightsaber and it was a pain far deeper than he had ever known.

She had been sent away from the war for a reason. He had wanted to keep her safe and out of harm, and now she was the one calling him back to the adventure. He watched now as she walked towards him, her head tilted down in the rain. Behind her was the man whom he had known as a boy. He had never understood why his sister had named him Ben. Maybe she had known him as a child, maybe she had heard stories from her adoptive parents about the man who had fought in the Clone Wars. He never questioned her choice, but to him it still seemed strange.

The man was looking straight ahead, his face void of emotion as he set his eyes on the elders before him, almost dragging his feet in resistance like a child as the two pilots pulled him along. Luke barely knew them; he hardly knew any of the members who fought in his sisters Resistance aside from Rey.

He saw something gleaming amongst the quintet, passing it off as the light reflecting on the hilt of a lightsaber, but the strong light continued to bounce off and reflect onto the grass until he traced it back to the source.  One of the copper wires in Rey’s metallic hand was catching the sunlight with every step she took.

Luke felt his knees grow weak as he reached out and grabbed onto his sisters arm for support. His head swimming as anger clouded his vision once more. She was hurt, she wasn’t supposed to be hurt. It didn’t matter what he did, how much he sent her away she always seemed to be pulled back into the chaos which he was trying to shelter her from.

Leia gently steadied him as she kept her eyes on her son still not sure if she was going to embrace him or hit him. She kept thinking back to his childhood, analyzing it to the point where she found faults in every bedtime story she ever told him. Maybe he would have been drawn to that path no matter what they had done, she couldn’t deny that they had pushed him towards the Dark Side, that he had willingly made the choice and lost himself in the process. Her son was in front of her, but she didn’t know if he was truly back or not

Both of the Sykwalker siblings looked upon their children, both of them wondering what heavenly deities they had upset to burden them with such an outcome.

The young fighters stopped waiting for their next command as the rain continued to fall down.

There was a long moment of silence between them as eyes fluttered from one down cast face to another. So much unsaid as the tension of the standoff mounted. Someone coughed, a bird cried out in the distance and then all the sounds with the exception of the heavy rain faded out.

 “Rey?” Luke whispered as he looked at her right hand wanting answers.

She looked up at him, her face drained of color a scowl drawn across it. “Father.” She breathed both angry and exasperated.  

He stepped forward wrapping his arms around her, embracing her like he had wanted to do so for the better part of a year. But she was shaking in his arms as her detest of him took over. This was all she had ever wanted, yet in Rey’s mind Luke had ruined the family she had longed for with his pride and cowardice.

She pulled away, leaning onto Finn, the friend that she had chosen as she looked at Jessika out of the corner of her eye. There was a family and a life that she wanted, and perhaps if she worked very hard she could still manage to get it all.

“We should get out of the rain.” Leia said in a surprisingly soft voice as she took command of the situation, mercifully following them back to the borrowed freighter rather than the Millennium Falcon.

As soon as they stepped back onto the ship, the door closing behind them it was as if the seal had been broken. Suddenly they were talking all at the same time, loudly and erratically each attending to their own agendas.

“How are you?” Luke croaked to someone unknown  

“What happened?” Leia muttered

“Well when we got there the First Order showed up.”-“Did you know that would happen?”-“What should we do next?”- “Rey, I want you to…”

"Stop" Leia called out in a commanding voice as she took control of the situation once more. She looked at them, the two pilots holding her son between them. Rey, the girl who suddenly had no hand and was looking at them with wide eyes. She looked up at all of them, sighing loudly. "We have time for all these concerns but right now...."  She paused and looked at her son. "Ben?"

He raised his lowered head. "Mother."

"I am furious at you, young man.” She began rising up to the ball of her feet as her voice remained eerily calm.  “For everything that you have done. Brooding around the galaxy like a toddler lashing out manically." His face reddened in embarrassment as his mother continued to berate him. "You have disappointment me more ways than I ever thought was possible. And yet..."  She paused to shake her head. "For some reason I think you still might be my son underneath all that darkness you wear."  She gave a curt nod to both Jessika and Poe, who released their grasp on him. He remained, his head downcast as he stood unsupported.

 Leia turned and looked at Rey. "Are you alright?" Rey blinked not sure if anyone had asked her that authentically yet. They all had their own problems to deal with and while they cared about Rey, Leia was looking at her with sharp transparency.

"I... no." She said honestly as the woman approached her, reaching up and wrapping her arms around her.

Leia had known who she was since she had seen Han again. Strategically, Finn’s mission to save a single girl was ineffective, but when she leaned who she really was…

_“Leia it’s her, Rey… she’s that Rey.”  He had called after her as she stormed down the corridors of the base on D’Qar._

_She had turned and looked at him with a scowl, shaking his head for that loud mouth of his which always seemed to have no problem saying sensitive information in full earshot of twenty people. “Seriously? You didn’t even give the her a fake name?” She had replied. “And Jakku, of all the planets you couldn’t have picked a more civilized one?”_

_“Well I’m sorry your Highness should I have found a royal family to hide her with?”_

Leia had walked away from the argument at that point, seething in her madness at her husband. But from the moment she had seen Rey back on the base, she wanted to care for the woman like she had when she was a little girl. "I know it's difficult to accept the truth." She muttered as she looked at the woman.

"No its..."  But she didn't know what it was. Rey didn’t know how to vocalize the many emotions she was feeling.

Leia nodded "Come on, let sit down and talk." She said not only to Rey but to the group at large. "We have things we need to plan."

Poe looked at her with a slight scowl not trusting her decision to arm the man who has hurt most of them and killed his own father. But Leia have him a glance towards her son, he wouldn't dare misbehave in her presence.

They made their way up to the kitchen sitting around the long table. Rey looked at her father, but he wasn't jumping to tell her and she didn't know what to say to him as well. They sat around, coupled as Leia continued to take charge.

"Can she be stopped?" Leia she asked looking at her son.

He nodded slowly. "I think so. It won't be easy."

“It never is” Luke said gruffly

“The internal organization isn't very strong. Half of them only know her as Snoke as the hologram of a ghostly man. If they knew who he really was they might turn to Hux or… or me.”

Leia nodded curtly. “I'm sorry are we really trusting this man right now?” Finn called out loudly.

There was a collective sigh of agreement from the younger contingent.

"No, not yet." Leia relied as she looked back at Finn. "But you of all people know how trusting and welcoming the Resistance can be, and maybe that will be our downfall. But someone has to provide hope for the galaxy" She gave Finn a knowing smile. "You'll need to go back." She said to her son.

He paled at the thought. Never considering that for his deception to work he would need to don his mask once more. "Back?"

"Yes" Leia replied "And you will need captives."

"Me?" Rey croaked.

Leia shook her head. "No not you. Me."

Quiet fell across the room as they looked at her unsure. "It will prove to Amara that you haven’t turned against her, bringing back your own mother as captive. It gives her what she wants Luke and Rey will come after you to rescue me."

“I’m coming with you.” Jessika said in a small voice. They turned to look at her surprised.  "She saw me with Rey in the temple. She knows I’m close to her.”

"I don't-” Rey began

“No it’s a good plan” Leia replied with a smile as if she already knew the true nature of the women’s relationship. "We’ll need things that we don't have here.” She said as she looked around.

"Where should we go, back to Dantooine?" Poe asked

Leia shook her head as she looked at her brother, he grinned at her. "Somewhere we haven't been in a while. Yavin." He added.

Poe let out a sputtering cough at the mention of his home planet. "Yavin?" He confirmed.

Leia nodded as she stood up and took her son by the arm with the intention of discreetly speaking with him. Rey stood up as well, but a Luke caught her arm wanting to take to her as well.

"I'll go set a course."  Jess replied

“Just wait, we have to take the Falcon as well.” Luke called out. Jessika stopped looking for someone else to give her a direction. “We have time.” He added.

Jessika stepped back, saying nothing else as she watched Luke and Rey disappear, she looked at Finn and Poe, the three of them suddenly feeling very left out.

Rey stepped into the corridor, not knowing where to go. It felt too personal to head back to the room which she and Jessika had made their own. She could hear the footsteps retreating and Leia led her son down to the lower levels, she turned her head feeling hopeless until she settled on the cockpit.

She walked towards it, hearing Luke following after her as she looked out at the rain hitting down on the glass view screen, making it hard to see the green world beyond. She turned and looked at him, ready to yell or scream, but she stopped as she saw his downcast face.

“I should have told you.” He said softly as he looked her in the eye.

“Yeah, considering everything you went through how could you not tell me?” Rey replied her voice uneven.

“I wanted to…” Luke began

“Wanting to and doing so are two very different things” Rey remarked as she sat down in one of the chair, cradling her false hand in her lap.

Luke looked down at her, his face twitching.  “How did you find out?” He murmured.

“It wasn’t exactly pleasant.” She said sharply. “She was there in the temple.” She paused. “Snoke, Amara, my mother whatever you want to call her. She told Ben to kill me and take my lightsaber. She said that you would come after him for killing your daughter.”

He frowned. “Why did she want your lightsaber?”

“How could you not tell me.” Rey pleaded as she looked at him, shaking her head. “It’s been nearly a year. And you never said a thing. That you’re my, my…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud as she felt the tears begin to cloud her vision.

“Rey.” He whispered in a gently pleading tone, reaching out to her but she pushed him away.

“You left me.” She yelled, the veins in her neck straining as her face reddened.

Luke gave a small nod of admission, still remaining calm as he looked at her. “I did it to protect you.”

“Protect me?” She sputtered. “You should have _fought_ for me!”

He shook his head slightly his face pale with shock. “I didn’t want to lose you.”

She could feel her animosity sitting under her skin like an electrical current she just couldn’t shake off. “So you hid me away on some desert?” She hissed with indignation  “You didn’t even know I was on Jakku, how did you ever plan on returning?”

“When it was all over, I would have come back.” He replied his own voice breaking as he looked at her. “I love you, you’re my daughter and I love you. But I had to protect you, make sure that you were safe. Even if it meant that I would never see you again, or that you would never become a Jedi.”

She looked up at him, her brown eyes watery as she shook her head and whispered. “I was alone, and scared and _alone_.”

He had been foolish to think that maybe someone would have taken her in, raised her like he had been raised, looked over her even. “I’m sorry Rey.”

She shook her head. “No,” She sniffled “You were a coward.” She spat at him.

“Rey….” He growled in warning.

She continued on her voice rising louder in volume as she felt the anger rise up within her. “You fought to free a galaxy from the Empire, but you couldn’t fight for me? You had someone else hide me away in a desert. You’re a coward.”

She stood waving her arms about as she looked at him angrily, beginning to storm out of the cockpit until Luke caught a hold of her arm. The uncovered metal of him arm against her flesh was just another sickening reminder of their relation. “I was trying to protect you.” He repeated again in a whisper.

But Rey just shook her head again as she pulled away from his grasp and left.

“REY” He called out once more, his shoulders rising and falling as he watched her disappear. He had been young once, ready to jump from one adventure to another without taking a moment to pause or question the path of his plans. He hadn’t thought it through, what hiding from her for so many years would do. He should have been able to see that.

He wanted to tell her that she might live to see a day when she really was safe. When she could flutter from one planet to another or become a real Jedi. All he had ever wanted for her was peace, but daughter wouldn’t listen to him.

“What do we do now.” He whispered to himself as he looked down at his own golden hand. Rey’s black, gold, silver, copper hand that she had pieced together for herself in a matter of hours seared in his mind. It was a common trait now, she was the third generation of Skywalker to lose her right hand in battle.

For a moment it seemed pointless, he had fought, he had lost. There was no use in continuing on, no clear path that he could see to reach his goal. He had hidden himself away in shame, not wanting the world to see the failure in the figure they had begun to paint as mythical.

He closed his eyes. But he was supposed to be the hope, they were supposed to be the hope of bringing a balance to the Force. But how?

“How do we defeat the Dark Side?” He whispered to himself. Defeat the Dark Side, he wasn’t sure it that was what they were supposed to do. He had told her to come to Dantooine, to see what she could find, but what had he expected her to find? She had seen AhsokaTano, the true apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. But why, why had Rey seen that memory.

She had been strong and intuitive. _Ashoka_? He called out with his mind wishing that perhaps she too had become something greater in death. But there was no response, no matter how hard he focused on the legacy of the woman he knew.

 _Ben_ , he thought to himself calling out to the teacher he had lost, his dry lips mouthing the word which had become in recent years so toxic. But there was no reply either. _Yoda_? It was useless he felt like a struggling young child once more.

But he turned his head away from the doorway which his daughter had ran though, closing his eyes once more. “Father.” He called out securely as he opened his eyes and looked out into the downpour.

Luke let out a small smile as he looked at the ghostly figure who was standing outside of the hull of the ship. His face restored to a humanly form, not of the youthful appearance he had when he turned into the machine, but perhaps what he would have looked like if he had died without needing the life support suit.

Anakin smiled as he looked at his son, his face almost disapproving of his choices.  “Luke.” He called out in the voice of an elderly man.

“Father.” Luke said with a bow of his head. He waited half expecting a stern lesson on his own practices as a parent, yet when none came he continued on in his questioning. “AhsokaTano, your apprentice, what happened to her?”

“She faced Vader.” Anakin replied as if it was as simple as that.

“And the outcome.”

A smile came across Anakin’s face. “She tried to see behind the mask, like you did. But I didn’t listen.”

“Did you kill her.”

His head shook slightly, “No.” He paused.

“Why not?” He asked curious.

The man before him was silent, forming the answer in his consciousness before he spoke.  “She was ready to cast aside the belief of the Jedi, the order which she walked away from to balance things once more. I spared her.”

Luke gave a small nod, “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know.” He looked almost ashamed as he said it.

“How do I find her?” Luke asked, from all he could tell the former apprentice was still out there.

“You need her help.” His father replied.

“Leia?” The ghost tilted his head to indicate that his son was both correct and incorrect. “Rey.” Luke said, seeing the nod out of the corner of his eye as he lowered his head.

**

The door opened with the same speed it normally did but Rey entered the room rapidly. Her face red and incensed as she began to tare through the bags and bags of clothing. She was sorting it, placing it in some piles her mouth moving in a silent argument as she did so.

Jessika sat up on the bed, looking at her with a frown. Rey where are you going.” Jessika said as she watched the woman before her trying to pack with one hand.

“Back home.” She spat, it was where everyone wanted her to be, it was where she had wanted to be a year ago.

She raised her brow “Home?” She echoed not knowing where in the galaxy Rey was referring to.

“Jakku… oor somewhere else.” Rey stammered.

“You can’t just give up like this? You’re a Jedi now.” Jessika replied as she scrambled to her feet, outs reaching a hand to try and stop her.

Rey batted her hand away “I never wanted to be a Jedi.” She snapped.

“Fine.” Jess said in a hurt voice as she looked at her with a sour face before swiftly bending down and begin to move though the piles herself. “Then we’re are we going? I assume you don’t want to go back to a desert planet, core world’s are a bad choice, so I suggest somewhere in the inner rim.”

Rey stood up tilting her head like a confused dog. “What…?” She stammered “You’re… you’re…”

“I’m coming with you.” Jessika replied her voice strong and determined as she looked back at Rey as if she was the crazy one. “You lead, I follow. Where are we going?”

Rey blinked still barely comprehending. “You’d do that?”

“I just offered to be captured by the First Order for you. I love you.” She said strongly. She had said it aloud before but she wasn’t sure if Rey had heard it before. Rey hadn’t, based on her wide eyes expression.

Rey was frozen in place hardly able to comprehend the through in her mind, her body still itching in rage. “You’d leave the Resistance?”

Jessika nodded. “If you want to run away, I’m running away with you. We can spend the rest of our lives hiding from the mother who wants to kill you.”

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running.” Rey said, her voice sounding like that of a child.

“Then what do you want to do?” Jessika asked with raised brows

“I want to fight.” Rey replied in a small voice.

Jessika smiled widely, Rey finally reaching the conclusion she wanted. “Then let’s fight.” She reached out and took Rey by the hands. “Let’s fight against the darkness in the worlds. I know you may not want to but dammit Rey let’s make a difference.”

Rey gave a small nod of agreement before she shook her head again. “I don’t want you to risk your life.”

Jess smiled. “The hell you’ll convince me other wise.”

Rey looked down at the pale hands holding onto hers. Jessika hands were smooth and untouched, she still seemed so green on the outside despite the many battles she had been in. “Working with… _him_.” She paused and for a moment Jessika didn’t know if she was referring to her father or the cousin who had cut off her hand. “Luke, he lied to me. I just want to….I just want to hurt him. To make him feel pain, a little bit of retaliation for what he put me through.” She squeezed onto Jessika’s had turning them an even paler shade.

She didn’t look up to see the brief glance of horror on her lovers face. “Your mother lied to you too.” Jessika reminded her. “She didn’t own up to who you were either. She could have told you Rey, but she didn’t.”

Rey shook her head as she looked at the hands of Jessika her veins were beginning to bulge. “He had so many opportunities.” She muttered to herself. Jessika pulled her hands away and Rey looked up at her sharply as if waking from a dream.

“I’m sorry.” She said honestly as she watched Jess rub blood back into her hands. She looked down at the floor wondering what had gotten into her. Everything felt as if it was sliding sideways and she was just grasping for a handhold.

Jessika was making some excuse to leave, the door closing quickly behind her as she left Rey all alone with her thoughts. Wondering what exactly was going to happen next, and more importantly what would she do when she saw her father again.

***

"Jakku" Leia scoffed as she looked at looked at her son, the symbolism of the planet not lost on her. It had been at the battle over the skies of Jakku that the Empire had truly come to an end, the irony seemed to fitting. "Whose idea was that?"

Her son tilted his head, "I honestly don't remember." Leia reached up and ran her thumb across the scar which ran the length of his face. “Rey.” He muttered, mentioning the woman who had gifted it to him in their first battle.

“Well I always did tell you if you weren’t careful she would end up scarring you one day.” She said with a small chuckle as she looked up at him. But she could see in his dark eyes that this was no time for jokes or humor. He was resisting every urge to move away from her, his eyes darting around the room “It’s all right,” she said softly in comforting tone. “You’re safe now.”

He turned his head away sighing as he looked around the small unused cabin. He lowered himself down onto the bare metal frame where the bed should be and looked at his mother with an even gaze. “I’ll never be safe.” He said sharply.

Leia took a step forward trying to remember the last time she had seen the man before her and recognized him as the boy she had once raised. The last time that he had resembled anything remotely close to her son he had been quite smaller, his hair short and ratty, his ears too big for his head. He had laughed and played games, causing trouble just as often as he spent time doing his Jedi training. She had seen him a few times since them, but he had always been the figure in the mask hiding behind someone else. When he didn’t come back, when the years turned into a decade she was afraid she would never see his deep brown eyes again.

“No one is safe in this galaxy. Not while I am in it.” He breathed as he looked up at her his eyes pleading that she wouldn’t show him mercy.

“Ben.” She stepped forward. He didn’t know it but his mannerisms were striking similar to his fathers as he leaned back placing his hands behind his head.

“I destroy… everything. Even though I feel the desire not to, everything I touch turns to ashes in my hands.” He mused as he looked up at the ceiling.

She closed her eyes, inhaling slowly as her frustration towards his stubborn and repetitive thought pattern annoyed her once more. “You are my son, and I love you… even after…” She paused thinking about the last time she had seen her estranged husband on the Resistance base. Part of her kept thinking that at any moment he would fly right back in, somehow alive, somehow able to be there with all of them telling jokes and outlandish stories.  Sometimes in moments when she was all alone she told herself the truth, that he was really dead. She looked at her son, back with her again, thinking that Han would come in through the door at any moment. He looked back at her, knowing the truth, having watched the life fade from his father’s eyes.

“He told me…” He said his voice cracking as he paused to clear his throat. “That you would do anything to help. Even when….” He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. “He still wanted to help, I don’t understand that. Why do you want to fight the First Order so bad?”

Leia looked down at her worn hands. She wanted to make a joke, an insult, a jab some brief moment of humor to dull the reality. It was a trait which she had picked up from Han, but she knew the shell of her son wouldn’t understand her mockery.

“We fought, and succeeded in over throwing the Empire. A small group of idealists against a system which infected a galaxy in a matter of years. You never saw what they did to people, the gentrification of cultures, the slavery they instated, the security state we lived in, wiping out species and planets that raised their voices against them.” She paused, tearing filling in her eyes but that wasn’t going to stop her. “We were willing to do anything to stop the Empire, ready to sacrifice our own lives so that a piece of information could be gained. And we stopped it, we succeeded. And then a true republic reinstated itself, we began to heal. At first the First Order was just whispers, just rumors of the expected fragmented left in the healing wound of our galaxy. Then they started to take planets and ships, then it took the face of Amara. Then it wasn’t whispers and shadows any more, then they were destroying a whole star system. And now so much of the galaxy has opened their eyes, wondering if peace was just a dream.”

“So if I had to kill you… to stop her?”

Leia raised out her arms in a small act of surrender, her son almost looking at her disappointed. 

She reached down to her hip and pulled out a small lightsaber hilt. The one which had been his what seemed like eons ago. "Ben."

He looked as his mother held out the weapon. "I don't deserve it."

"No you don't." She agreed with him. “But this belonged to my son, and you are my son.” She held the lightsaber out gesturing with his hand for him to take it. His pale hand reached out and grabbed it holding onto it as if it was burning his hands.

 She dropped her hands to her side watching as he took hold of the hilt of the single bladed lightsaber. “I was so nervous when you went to go get that crystal.” She said with a small pause remembering the boys instance at the age of nine of taking a small ship on his own and journeying to a cave. “I shouldn’t have been, but as your mother I always worry. You came back with that tiny yellow rock and we were all so confused until Luke figured it out.”

“Sentinel.” He muttered the old type of Jedi classes which had existed thousands of year ago when lightsabers were common and their colors meant something. The Sentinels were guardians and protectors. “I never managed to successfully guard anything.” He said as he threw the hilt down on the floor the metal clinging hard.

Leia bent down to pick it up, sighing as she held it in her hands. The reminder that she held on as what her son had once been. She prayed that he had managed to guard himself as she spoke once more. “You were a spy for fifteen years, spending more time among the enemy that anyone else in the Resistance has. _You_ can bring this all down. Ben I know you can.”

She looked into her son’s eyes, pleading that he would find the strength within him. She could encourage and scold him until she could no longer speak but it was up to him to make the final decision.

The door opened and she turned to look at her brother. His lips parted to speak, but the words never formed on his lips as he looked between his sister and his grown nephew who looked more like a toddler throwing a tantrum at the moment with his favorite toy lying on the ground.

“Is it time to go?” Leia asked him

Luke shook his head. “Not just yet.” He stepped into the room, looking at the lightsaber on the ground. Ben reached down and quickly picked it back up again, his face almost embarrassed.

Leia looked at her brother, finding it amusing that they had lived long enough to see both of their children upset at their parents. “I wanted to ask you,” He began interrupting her thoughts. “AhsokaTano, the woman who you met in the temple, what happened to her?”

Leia paused in thought, as she tried to remember was seemed like hundreds of years ago. “She was running with a rebel cell for a while.”

“No like after the war was over, after the battle of Endor, did you ever hear anything about her?”

Leia shook her head. “No, I only ever met her the on time as well. Why?”

“I don’t think she’s dead.” Luke said his mouth feeling dry at the very thought, and I think we need to find her.”

There was a small grunt from the man sitting on the bedframe. “And who is we in this scenario?”

“Rey and I.”

Leia inhaled stiffly as if she could smell the tension in the air between the aforementioned pair. “Does she know that?”

“Leia.” He breathed as if to comment that she was in no state to give him parenting advice.

“Luke.” She replied with the witty discipline of a schoolteacher. “Then you should leave as soon as possible.” Leia replied. “We can take the Falcon and rendezvous with the First Order, bypass Yavin all together.”

Luke shook his head. “There is something we need to do on Yavin and I will likely need all of your help.” He said in reference to the three others who could feel the Force along with him.

“What?” his sister asked him with wide eyes, bewildered at what could be left on the planet from their days in the rebel alliance.

“Why don’t you ask Dameron.”  Luke said with a childish smile as he left the room.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The stone monuments rose up from the sea of green leaves, carved by hand hundreds or even thousands of years ago. The sharp lines of the engravings still fresh and crisp as the ships flew over the canopy of the forests of Yavin. They lowered down into the complex of hangers and military bunks still in use decades after the battle above the planet. It was a strange descent, the low narrow opening in the stones more suited for starfighters rather than freighters but they landed all the same, being greeted by a small task force of the deck crew.

Luke, Leia and surprisingly Jessika, who had been rather insistent on getting a chance to fly in the famous ship stepped out of the Falcon. “It hasn’t changed at all.” Luke said in a gasp which reminded his sister of simpler times.

She took him by the arm leading him over towards the other ship, the boarding ramp was lowered and the black X-wing was being pulled out but there was no sign of the crew. “I think they repainted.” Leia muttered out of the corner of her mouth as Jessika ran up ahead of them in to the other ship.

Rey was standing over a large hover crate which was placed on the floor its top opened as she looked at her cousin beside her who was frowning. “Get in the crate.” Rey said as she gestured to it sharply.

“I am not being smuggled onto a base.” Ben replied with a firm shake of his head.

Rey crossed her arms over her chest. “They can’t know that you are here.”

“No one knows what my face really looks like. Why do you think I wear the mask?”

Rey huffed, visibly caught off guard by what she felt was a reasonable argument. “Get in the crate Ben.” Leia called out hoarsely.

The tall man scrambled inside, both Finn and Poe unable to conceal their laughter as they placed the cover back on and send the crate hovering in the air as a deck hand came to take it away to the General’s quarters.

Rey stepped out of the ship, looking past the running deck hands and the whizzing droids at the world beyond the narrow opening. The tall forest filled with a hundred different shades of green. She stepped out beyond the hanger door carved of stone smiling as the sunlight fell down upon her shoulders, she never thought she would miss the warmth of the sun.

She closed her eyes as she felt someone come to stand beside her. “It’s warm.” She replied pleasantly.

“I know,” Came the bravado of Poe. “I grew up here.”

She opened her eyes to grin at him as someone else took a hold of her elbow. “Medbay now.” Luke called out firmly as he pulled her along. She waved her hand in goodbye as Luke called out to Poe. “We’re going to need to meet up with your father.”

**

Everything felt familiar, the smell of the trees the paths which were carved into the woods as they moved along on the small speeders past homesteads. Poe remembered with a warm fondness the childhood friends and advisories who had lived in these small homes, the games the children had played so unaware of the time of peace that they lived in. He noticed every change, the repainted doors and the fixed windows. He was so removed from his home planet,. He couldn’t remember clearly how long it had been since he last set foot on Yavin 4, and yet it still felt like home as he leaned into the familiar curves of the road. He tried to hide a smile, knowing that the man next to him would never be able to feel such adoration for his own home planet.

Finn was looking at this world with wide eyes as well. Poe figured that he had taken it for granted, the amount of travel which he had done as a child. His parents had both been pilots who started to get physically jumpy when they were left on the ground too long. But they hadn’t just taught him to fly when he was little, they would take trips to the other planets in the surrounding systems. Sometimes even farther, half a galaxy away, Poe just a young child not understating the dark look in his parent’s eyes as they looked out over fields which in their eyes were still a battle ground.

But Finn was so sheltered he sometimes felt like a parent himself as he guided the solider around how things worked. Rey was clueless at times as well, but at least there was a purpose to her misunderstandings. Finn tried to catch up, and he had admittedly learned a lot in the near year since his defection.

They stopped in front of the long modular home whose large glass windows over looked a small meadow, as always there was a gleaming A-wing outside. Its paint was so vibrant and flawless it looked as if it had just rolled off the factory line, but Poe knew it was practically an antique, older than he was. His father had kept it in impeccable condition, a fitting tribute to his late wife.

Poe stopped the small speeder, helping Finn climb out of it. Poe was still sore, his back cracking with sharp movements, but Finn still winced as he put his weight on his leg. He should have gone to the medical center along with Rey, but there would have been no convincing him. Finn was rather content to live in physical pain from time to time.

The men exchanged a glance as they both wondered if they had any reason to be worried as they approached the house. Poe walked up to the door and pressed the button on the access pad, he knew the code to get into the house, but it seemed politer in the moment to metaphorically knock.

They waited, hearing nothing. Poe looked around, if the A-wing was there his father was home rather than working at the local flight academy. There was only one other place that he could be, Poe lead the way around to the small work shed, where he saw a figure bent over a unnamed and modified Starfighter. But the long line of metal was almost unrecognizable as a space ship with the exception of the engine block which stood exposed along the sleep body as the man’s wielding gun sparked flames of illumination on his masked face.

“Dad.” Poe called out lightly giving a small wave but his father did not see him. “Dad… DAD” He finally shouted.

The man placed the wielding gun down and removed his protective mask to reveal a similarly tan face as the son looking at him. Kes Dameron’s short hair was specked with more grey than black, the lines around his green eyes were prominent, but the resemblance was striking between father and son. He took a few steps forward, standing a head taller than his son as he wrapped his arms around him and placed him in a tight embrace.

“Poe.” His father said with a large smile on his face. “It’s good to see you again.” Kes had never really approved of his son continuing the fight in the war he had started, more for the sake of his son than anything else. He knew what kind of life Poe was getting into, rarely able to see the ones he cared about, heading off on a mission at a moment’s notice.

“Sorry I couldn’t give you warning, I didn’t know we were coming here until a few hours ago.” Poe said with a small shake of his head. Kes looked at the man beside his son, knowing who he was but waiting to be introduced. “This is Finn, my boyfriend.”

Kes gave him a warm smile and pulled him into an embrace as well. Finn thought taken a back said nothing. “It’s nice to finally met you, I’ve heard quite a bit about you Finn.” He said as he pulled away. “What brings you both here?”

Poe stood up a bit taller like he was in front of the General, Finn hid a small smile. “I was asked to get you by…” He paused biting down on the edge of his lip nervously as if afraid to say the name aloud. “Luke.” He simply added in a whisper.

The singular name was enough to strike a chord in Kes’s memory as he slowly nodded his head as he looked at his dirty coveralls. “Let me get changed.” He said in a formality as if he was about to meet a queen.

Finn and Poe followed him into the house, Finn looking around wildly at the pictures hanging on the walls and sitting on small tables. They were many, many pictures; more almost that he thought normal. He noticed the recurring patterns of the long haired woman who had been Shara Bey often with her toothily grinned son in her arms. Poe had told him how his mother had passed when he was younger, how she had fallen ill. The house seemed almost like a monument to her, her image adorned everywhere so that it was scorching into his eyes as he looked around the room waiting for Poe’s father to return.

There was a small pang on longing in Finn, the desire to have someone miss him that much. He wondered if there was, anywhere in the universe a small house in some quiet village where a few fleeting images of a dark skinned infant adorned the walls with such devotion, the child who had been taken away and turned into a solider, never to return.

Kes returned quickly wearing a clean jumpsuit and looking as if he had run a comb though his hair. Finn and Poe almost found it funny how he was dressing to impress the man whom Rey had come very close to cursing a storm about in the past few days, even Jessika had to admit that she now saw some faults in the man she idolized.

“I never really knew him that well.” Kes said gesturing to himself as if it accounted to his flustered nature. “Shara did though.” He added curtly as he let Poe lead them though the house towards the speeder awaiting outside “She went on a few missions for Skywalker, for his sister as well.” He added proud of his late wife’s accomplishments.

“General Organa is here as well.” Finn replied as they sat down in the speeder. Kes’s eyes widened as he looked at Finn, knowing that his call to duty had to be something of a more serious nature than he had originally presumed. “You never fought for either of them in the rebellion?”

He shook his head. “Shara was more suited to heroics, sneaking around with General Solo was more my line of work.” Finn’s face fell, he had like Han Solo a lot until… “You knew him?”

Finn nodded. “He helped me out of scrape or two.”

The elder man laughed as the speeder kicked into motion. “Your one of the rare ones, we used to end up getting into more trouble than we started.” He said before the roar of the open engine make it nearly impossible for them to speak.

**

Rey wouldn’t meet his gaze, her eyes kept darting around the room as the medical officer examined her. Luke would have been tempted to say that such an action hurt him personally but he expected nothing less from her. He had been in her position before, feeling so betrayed by someone who was supposed to be his family. But the man who was really his father, truly hadn’t known for twenty years that Luke had been born, she was different, he should have known that she would be different.

He wanted to say something to her, he wanted her to listen but she was done with him for the time being. He sighed loudly and audibly leaving the medical room and reentering the base which he had run around when he was just a child.

The remnants of the Rebel base on Yavin 4 had been turned into a flight academy. It was a logical choice since much of the infrastructure needed was already in place. It seemed everything was different from what he remembered, then again it had been half a life time ago, he would expect nothing of the same. He walked through the hallways with the grace of anonymity. Unlike his sister the students saw him mostly as an older man rather than a famous figure. They walked past her and their heads turning for a double take, as they shook their heads in disbelief and scuttled along with their youthful friends.

For a moment he was lost, waiting for someone to give him a command until he realized that he was the one in charge. He still hadn’t got used to that, leading with his words and ideas. People expecting him to be filled with years of useful experience. Sometimes in his mind he was still back on Tatooine, begging his uncle to let him go to flight school. He would wonder from time to time, if maybe that darn little droid hadn’t led him to the cave in the hills, would he still have ended up flying for the Rebellion, or would he have ended up in the Empire.

He was stopped in his reminiscing by the sounds of BB-8. The little ball droid looked up at him, seeming happy? He hadn’t managed to learn droid speak, at this rate he never would. It’s little head turned from side to side and Luke wondered when they purposely started to make Droids looking cuter than needed.

“What?” He tried to ask calmly as it began to run away from him. He shook his head, cursing it as zigzaged though the sea of students. He chased after it, there was no other alternative as the sunlight hit him in the eye as he stepped out in to the sun.

He heard the speeder approaching before his vision was granted back to him and the cheer of the Droid once more at the sight of its masters. He looked at the other man sitting beside them. He had meet the elder Dameron once or twice back in the war, but he looked so much older now. They all did, it was a bit of a shock that he still hadn’t gotten used to now that he was out of his self imposed isolation.

The speeder stopped and Poe jumped out, giving Luke a shining smile as he helped his own father out.

Kes Dameron was more popular than Luke as they walked through the fight school which he taught at, the students waving as he called them each out by name. He stood up a bit taller in the presence of Luke, of the man whom his late wife had spoken so proudly of. Luke led them back to the small unused strategy room. He was trying to remember as he looked at the new leather seats and the latest model computer station, if this was the room where they had planned the attack on the first Death Star. He couldn’t remember and yet he was certain that maybe it wasn’t.

Jessika Pava was already sitting down, her legs thrown up on top of the back of the chair in front of her as she flicked through a Data Pad. The door shut behind the men, she looked up at them over her shoulder before turning to the information on the device in her hands.

“Where’s Leia?” Luke asked her.

“She had to get settled in.” Jessika replied, but the truth of her lie was clear, she had more important figures to hide within the former base rather than talk strategy with him.

Luke sighed “We’re going to need her help.”

“Then you can go get her.” Jessika replied in a tense nature which she had adopted from Rey. The image of her former idol had been shattered, the man who she had wanted to be like somehow as she matured. It was all a lie, he cold save a galaxy but he couldn’t be bothered to try and save his own child. Jessika could hardly stand to look at him, especially not with the wide eyes of Kes.

Poe’s father opened his mouth, but he was unsure of how to address the man before him. There were old military titles clashing in his mind, “Just Luke is fine.” The man in question replied with a small smile. Jessika tutted, Finn rolled his eyes at her.

Kes gave him a slow nod. “Shara said that one day you would be back for it.”

Poe looked at his father with confusion. “What?” He asked his father.

“I kept it safe.” Kes replied ignoring his son.

The door opened once more, and they all turned, with a brief panic on their faces expecting that they had been interrupted. Rey looked at them, slightly bowing her head as she entered the room, sitting down next to Jessika.

Kes waited until someone gave him the slight gesture to continue on. “The, well it’s a tree now…”

“A tree?” Finn repeated. “We came her for a tree?”

“it’s a…” Kes stammered not sure how to describe the tree in question. He looked around the room, his eyes stopping on his son as if Poe would have a better way to describe it but the young man just shrugged.

Luke replied for him “It’s a tree with Force properties.”

Rey rolled her eyes and let out a hollow laugh. “So there are magical Force trees now? What’s next Force guide dogs?”

He didn’t let her biting words bother him. “Where is it?”

“Not far away. The sun will be setting soon and there isn’t a clear path, but we can go a first light tomorrow morning.” Kes paused. “What are you going to…. Do with it?”

“And why do you need your sisters help?” Finn added.

Luke turned his head looking at the profile of the child who was stubbornly still not looking at him. “I’m trying to find someone, the tree is supposed to help you connect with other force users. That’s why I need as many force users as I can to help me in my search.”

Rey’s head snapped up. “So there is a tree here on Yavin that would have let you….” She didn’t finish the sentence, her anger did let her. He could have found her. He could have asked Han, he could have used the damned tree, he didn’t have to leave her on Jakku. But he had.

Her face was scrunching up with rage once more. Everything that she had once dreamed of, the family that for a moment she thought she had found, had turned to dust in her hands. Rey stood up shaking her head as a chorus of voices called out her name.

“Rey.” Jessika rose too her feet as Rey stood in the doorway. But she didn’t follow after her.

“Rey.” Luke called out chasing her out of the door.

Tears were being to form in her eyes and for a moment she wanted it all to be a dream. Maybe the heat and a exhaustion of Jakku, maybe the life of struggling to get by had been worth it if this was the alternative. “Rey, please.” He called after her as she rounded the corner.

She looked back for a moment seeing someone else behind him.

"Luke." Leia was shaking her head, her arms across her chest as she looked at him disapprovingly. Her voice was gruffer than it had once been, stained with years of use. Expressing the exhaustion which she felt, the want to just sit down and relax. To have things go her way after fighting so hard for them.

With a tilt of her head she indicated that he should walk away from Rey who was already cringing at the sight of him. Leia waited until after he had left and then she approached the young woman, remembering to smile just slightly as she ushered her into a small disused room.

The word were already on her lips, _'I know exactly what you are feeling_ ' But Rey shook her head. "No you don't" She snapped at her.

Leia scoffed. "At least he's still alive." She barked back at her. "At least he is a decent man."

Those words were more cutting. Rey hung her head, realizing that her aunt for the moment had the upper hand in the argument. Leia had always known that she was adopted, but the Organa's has treated her with enormous civility and love. They had been the parents that she wished she had. Her mother, her real mother that was a legacy which she was wiling to acknowledge, but Darth Vader..... She chose not to think of it, even when the horrors of the war came back to threaten her dreams, or when it was whispered by her political opponents. She was determined not to let it get to her.

But it did. She lay at night wondering how history would paint her. She had led a revolution, she had made waves of political power. She saw the way those young pilots looked at her when she walked into the room, the fear and respect. Her conscious played evil tricks on her, was she really making the galaxy better, of was she still beating to the same drum as the man in black.

“He makes stupid decisions, he always has.” Leia replied as she shook away her own demons to look at the young woman before her. “Luke hardly ever thinks anything through. Both Han and I told him it was a stupid plan, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Rey looked up at her, brushing back a strand of her own loose hair. She wanted to believe the woman before her, but pure vengeance seemed to be holding her back. “He expects me to help him, to go on like nothing has changed.”

Leia nodded, asking her the question which no one had ever asked her. “Do you want to help the Resistance?”

Rey paused, her mouth hanging as the hesitated to respond. On Jakku she had only hear rumors and whispers about the Resistance and the First Order which were battling in he skies above. It was so far removed from that planet, it didn’t seem to matter to anyone there, they all went on in their lives. She hadn’t even known why Finn or Poe had been on the planet to begin with until weeks after she met them. Until Poe had explained to there the village that the First Order had massacred, the village of people who still believed in the Force. She hadn’t known it had existed until they told her. Within the span of days she was meeting legendary smugglers and traveling actress the galaxy, she learned she could be a Jedi, she had gone in search of Luke Skywalker, it had happened so fast. Now the long life which she had led on Jakku the wreckage of the final stand of the Empire which she knew so we’ll seemed like such a distant part of her life.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Rey muttered.

Leia said nothing as she moved to sit down beside her.  She had never been asked whether or not she wanted to continue Bail Organa’s quest for the freedom of the galaxy. Ever since Leia has been a child she had fought alongside her father, subverting the Empire at every move. At fourteen she was leading Rebel missions, by the time she was Rey’s age she had already helped with the destruction of the first Death Star. Even when the war had ended she hadn’t stopped fighting, it just changed from battlefield to political arenas. Now, thirty years after Endor she was still fighting wondering whether or not it would ever be over.

“You do have a choice” she said as she reached over and took Rey by the hand. “It might be very hard to see that path but you do have a choice Rey. You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to. You don’t have to be become a Jedi.” Rey turned her head, furrow in her brow as she looked at Leia. “I’m not.” She added coolly.

The younger woman nodded once, “What about,” She paused still unable to say the correct word. “Luke.” She whispered tenderly.

Leia sighed as she gingerly moved her arm around Rey’s shoulders fearful that the young woman would back away from her embrace. “I don’t know why he didn’t tell you the truth, and believe me I asked him.” A smile cracked her face. “This might be hard to comprehend but one day you won’t feel so indestructible anymore. Then suddenly protection from a myriad of things and keeping the truth from the ones you love seems to be the best choice. Rey I don’t like seeing you hurt I don’t like the fact that my son did it to you.” She paused her voice laced with tears. “And if you want to leave I understand, I’ve played these war games before. I’ve lost….” She stopped the words catching in the throat.

Rey leaned into her, just like she had when she was little. Sometimes Leia would look at the woman before her, and see in her minds eye the little girl who was so keen to copy her. “I know.” Rey muttered, the words rumbling against Leia chest.

Leia pulled her in tighter, leading down to gently kiss the top of her dark hair. “Even if Han hadn’t told me on the base I still would have known it was you the moment I saw you walking off the Falcon. I could just tell, I could feel it.” She had embraced her once more, after nearly fifteen years, remembering the last time she had held Rey in her arms. “Rey, both Luke and I understand what it is like to learn who your parents really are, especially what it is like when one of them is trying to rip apart the galaxy. It’s alright that you are mad at him, mad at me even, mad at Ben too I assume. But your not alone Rey, you’ll never be alone again.”

**

Finn noticed the smile on Poe’s face growing wider as they approached the home once more. His father had been instant that they spend what short time they had on Yavin at the house. Poe had gotten so used to the constantly changing military barracks that being back home seemed like such a small privilege. To have a home cooked meal, to be sitting in the room which he had grown up in as a child, to be sharing it all with Finn, it felt like a dream. But he couldn’t help but notice the small look of discomfort on the other man’s face. Poe knew why it was there too.

He stepped outside two glasses of whiskey in his hands after diner as the warm air hit him once more. The sun had gone down and the stars were just beginning to peak through the darkening sky as the moon shone over head.

“You’re lucky.” Poe breathed as he handed Finn a glass. “You get to choose your home planet now.”

Finn frowned at him quickly before taking a sip of the strong liquid. “Lucky...”

“Well you always end up resenting your home world a little bit.” At least that way what he had found in the other pilots he had meet. They would speak of their home world’s foundry when the had enough to drink but sober there was always something wrong with them. “I mean Yavin is nice, certainly higher ranking than some other planets, but it’s isolated in a strange part of space.”

“So what do you think my new home world should be?” Finn mused

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. Where you want to go? Where do you want to live out the rest of your days? Maybe it won’t be just one planet, maybe it will be a whole system.”

“Well where do you want to go?”

Poe took a long sip, knowing the implications of the question that Finn had asked him. When this was all over, when there was no more war, if they were both still alive, watching happened next. From what he had seen in the president of the previous generation, they would get a few years of chaos at the galaxy struggled over coping with the change in regime, they a few more years of working tireless to enforce change, maybe a decade of peace if they were luck before the cycle of war began again. Maybe the galaxy was just too large, to vast and diverse to assure that there would never be a time without a war of some sort. He had seen enough to know that there would always be something to argue over, that there were things at work that were far beyond what they could control.

“What’s our role in this anymore?” Poe asked voicing the frustrations that he had been harboring for quite some time. “I mean… kirffing Force Trees and prophesy. What good can we do, how can we help?”

“You can fly,” Finn began “Your the best pilot I’ve ever seen.”

He shook his head. “Rey can fly too, likely better than me and we both know it. Finn…”

Finns shoulders sagged. “We can’t just run away.” He said softy. “We promised to help, to be a part of this battle….”

“What if there is no us left when the war ends?” He didn’t say it angrily, just bluntly. Who knew how many more years they had in this war, how many more battles and missions each one putting their lives on the line until they died in the line of action.

Finn had been a part of the system, he had seen the false propaganda and brainwashing contrasted with the slaughter of innocents. “We can…we know the horrors that will occur if the First Order takes over the galaxy. We have to help, the more of us that fight the better the chance.”

Sometimes Finns idealism caught him off guard, his impassioned belief in what was right and wrong his focus to try and help change the world around him. It would be to the Resistance benefit to place him in front of a crowd, to let him try and change others with his tales of first hand experience. He spoke with a soft charisma which Poe had only seen in General Organa. Finn probably wouldn’t admit it, but he was likely far more valuable to the Resistance than Poe ever was; pilots could be trained but Finn had something else that simply could not be learned.

Poe reached down and took a hold of the other man’s hand, not ever wanting to let go though he knew at some point he would have to. They both looked out in the distance knowing it had taken a war to let them meet one another, and it had taken a war to bring them into a relationship. Maybe they were both scared that when the war ended there would be nothing left to hold them together. That they would slowly drift apart over the years until it no longer made sense for them to be together at all.

But until the day came that the First Order was defeated they could dream about the uncertain future as much as they wanted, but they would get no answers unless they lived long enough to see them.

**

The door closed behind them and Rey finally felt the stress in her shoulders slip away. She was alone with Jessika for what seemed like the first time in years, even thought she knew that wasn’t true.  The room was surprisingly large, the bed covered with at least five large fluffy pillows and a warm skin thrown across it. She didn’t know if all the rooms on the old Rebel base on Yavin were all this lush or not, but Rey didn’t care.  Jessika collapse on the bed, muttering something about how she loved pillows as she arranged them all around her body pinning herself in a cloud of fluff. Rey felt a smile creep across her face for the first time. She looked around the room filled with little luxuries, there was a door which led to a private fresher.

Rey stepped inside excitedly looking not only at the shower, but the large stone pool. There was already warm water in the natural hot spring. It was clear and steaming with the faint smell of moss coming off it. She couldn’t remember the last time she had properly been able to clean herself. She began to peel off her clothes, letting them fall to the floor as she noticed a small row of old bottles of perfumed oils. She reached across, looking at the peeling label as she poured a few drops of floral scented oil into the water. Rey placed her foot into the water, taking a few seconds to get used to the scalding warmth. She sighed as she placed her other foot in the water, forgetting for a fleeting second the events of the past few days. The scent of flowers which she didn’t know the name of filled her nose as she stepped fully into the bath, closing her eyes as the warmth took over her. She began to sink down to her knees until she heard the sound of metal clanking.

She opened her eyes and looked at the metal hand, full of wires and circuits, she would have electrocuted herself if she wasn’t careful. She stood up, holding her hand high above her head. The rest of her was wet, even if she could dry her other hand it still wouldn’t be safe. "Jess." She called out, half hating herself for needing help. "Jessika." She yelled slightly louder until she heard the scurrying of feet.

"Kriff." Jessika whispered, impressed as she looked at the large bath.

Rey looked at her, feeling like a helpless child.  "I can't, I need you to take…'" Jessika nodded, stepping forward and removing the metal hand from the brace on her forearm without saying another word.

Relieved for her intuition Rey slipped down into the bath, closing her eyes as the warm waters surrounded her. "Thank you." She muttered as she heard another clink as Jessika placed the hand down. There was a subtle stinging from where the limb had been removed the red and raw skin irritated by the warmth, but she pushed those feelings aside.

Jessika let her hands fall into the water as she swirled the water around. "Can I?" Rey gave a slight nod and Jessika added her clothes to the pile on the floor as she silently slipped into the water.

The heat was dizzying, almost uncomfortably so but Rey forced herself to relax. She looked at the Jessika, the ends of her dark hair becoming wet and clinging to the milky skin of her breasts. The seam was rising between then making the world hazy and hard to see.

“Is every flower in the galaxy in here?” Jessika muttered as she sniffed the hair.

Rey leaned back closing her eyes. “I like flowers.” She muttered defensively. Her head hurt, her brain was swimming with thoughts and it was as if the steam was making it waterlogged in the process. Everything in her body hurt. The backsides of her legs felt tense, her back was twisted into knots and her head felt too heavy for her neck. She didn’t know if she had always felt this way and could only beginning to sense it now or if all the pain was a recent revelation.

Through the haze she felt a hand come to rest on her leg. She opened her eyes to look at Jessika. The other woman was looking at her with a concerned glance. It was only then that she realized tears were streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry.” Jessika muttered

“For what?” Rey tried to laugh but her head was spinning. She moved next to her, rest her head against Rey’s. She didn’t need to say or add anything as Jessika sat down beside her.

They remained that way for quite some time, until the steam seemed to clear from the air and their fingertips had become wrinkled. They helped one another exit the stone tub and dry of. Walking back to the bed, their skin still damn, hair sticking to the back of their head as they climbed into the bed. The sheets were silk against their skin as Rey's fingers ran up and down Jessika's arm. Her skin still smelled like sweet flowers. Rey's fingers traced slowly over her muscular arm over to her chest, trickling down as they began to circle the rise of her breasts.

"We don't have to" Jessika muttered as Rey began to circle faster and faster, the other woman's nipples becoming hard as she increased the pressure.

"When the next time we're going to see each other after tonight?" Rey muttered as she slid down underneath the covered, her body becoming lost as they twisted together under the sheets.

"Good point." Jess replied as her head titled towards the stone ceiling above she closed her eyes as the other woman stumblingly tried to pleasure her. Part of Rey was embarrassed by her lack of a hand, unsure of what to do with her stump as she pulled it behind her back. Yet another part of her didn't want to waste any of this moment, both of them knowing this might be the last time in months that they would see one another. She slid down underneath the sheets the head enveloping her as she lowered herself down. It was dark, and yet she kept her eyes opened as she approached the opening between Jessika's legs, even though she could barely see anything. Her left hand pushed the legs wide as her mouth moved towards the warm fold. She didn't know what she was doing, neither of them really did but the desperateness to be with one another guided their actions as Rey slid her tongue between her lips and began to lick on the folds of her cunt.

Jess yelped pulling her legs up so quickly that she almost hit the woman in between them. "Sorry." She muttered as she closed her eyes once more as her hand drew to her head, trying to enjoy the sensations. Jess knew that in a few days time she would be a prisoner, she would have to pretend to be a captive, Rey would be gone and she didn't know when she would return. This would be just another one of the memories that she would have to savor during her time in a cell.

"Damn it." Jess yelled as she pulled back the sheet. Rey looked up at her from between her legs wondering if she had done something wrong. But Jess only wanted to see her face. She looked down over the creases in her own body, seeing faults in them that Rey did not seem to find in her as she nodded for the other woman to continue.

Her body was tingling, on the verge between pain and pleasure as Rey continued on with her mouth down on the folds of her. Her lips and tongue dancing around in circles as Jessika's vision went crossed. She enjoyed it more than nearly anything else in the past few weeks, but she wanted to reciprocate the work.

Her hands reached down to train down into Rey's wet hair. Nails digging into her scalp as her chest heaved with every slight convulsion.

"Let me see your face." Jess breathed as Rey pulled up to rest over her. She was trying her best to memorize every shadow and twitch as she looked into her brow eyes. Rey was propped up on one arm, her small breasts dangling down as Jess reached up and cupped one her entire hand fitting around it. It felt soft in her hands, the skin flawless as she rubbed her fingers around it.

"This hurts my wrist." Rey muttered as she looked down at Jessika, almost ashamed.

The other woman helped her come down as they both lied on their sides, so close to one another that their breath was hot against one another skin as they pulled in closer for a kiss. Jessika's lips were quivering as she hung onto Rey, their feet sliding in together, arms and fingers entertainingly as they became a twisted knot on top of the sheets. There wasn't enough they could touch, that they could cling onto as they kept pressing into one another, as if trying to meld with the other. They were frantic, grabbing and pulling on themselves and the other with their eyes half closed.

There was a knock on the door, Rey twisted her head against a pillow "Go away." She yelled in frustration as her concentration was broken.

"Rey."

"Kriff." She replied as she recognized the voice of Luke. She pulled away from Jessika looking for something on the floor which would cover her body.

Jess, suddenly cold without the other woman pulled the skin over her body. "Should I hide." She said only half joking as she watched Rey place a knee length coat over her body.

Rey shook her head as she moved to the door and pressed the button on the wall to open it. Luke looked at his daughter and then to the dark haired woman in the bed. Surprise undeniably across his face for a moment, not because it was another woman in the bed, but simply because there was someone in the bed in the first place.

"Yes." Rey said not wanting to hide her irritation.

“I’m sorry to bother you, I wanted to talk with you.”

Rey exhaled sharply like a snake hissing defensively. “Does it have to be now?” Luke paused not wanting to lie any further. It wasn’t of an immediate concern but he would rather try to make amends with her sooner rather than later. “Fine.” She replied sensing his trepidation. “Give me a moment.” She replied, closing the door and turning to roll her eyes at Jessika before she got dressed. “Give us ten minutes and then begin the search party for the body of a dead Jedi.” She snapped as she grabbed her lightsaber. Jessika knew it was only half a joke.

Yavin was one of the first planets other than Tatooine that Luke had ever been too. He still remembered it fondly, wondering if it was half a dream this green and golden place with endless trees. But he had been so shocked to appreciate the smaller beauty, focusing on the loss of his aunt and uncle as well as his mentor, focusing all of his attention to destroying a Death Star. In a way it was as if nothing had ever changed. Yavin was still as beautiful as ever, and the worlds were still at war.

She followed him wordlessly outside, yet she made every sound she consciously could with her body as she dragged her feet and kicked up rocks as they stepped into the edge of the forest to look up to the dark sky. They looked up at the other planets and systems, anonymous in the mass of pale dots but brimming with as much life as the planet they were standing on.

“You were two.” Luke whispered as he looked up at the stars, unless at navigating them without a computer. “When you first held a lightsaber…. This one.” He added as he pulled up his own. “I thought you were too young, but Amara pushed me. I really did love her, care about her. The look on her face, the pride as she watched you swing around a lightsaber unscathed. I didn’t know then. I found out two months later that she was behind the First Order, that she had plans for you. I tried to protect you, to guide you. But I could see it in her eyes, she was so intent on casting you in a red light. She was willing to do anything to pull you over to the Dark Side.”

Rey let out a sigh. “You still should have told me.” She said stiffly “The moment you saw me.” She closed her eye shaking her head. It didn’t  matter how she had been hidden away because she had a parent who cared about her and wanted to keep her safe, she just didn’t understand how the same man could then not tell her who he really was fifteen years later.

“I know.” He replied. “And I’m sorry.” She was quiet. “You have every right to hate me, but we are going to need to work together to defeat her, do you understand me.”

She turned her head and looked into his old and weathered face, hardly a shadow of the strapping young hero he had once been. She wondered if she would live to look so exhausted. “Yeah, I do.” Rey replied softly before she turned quickly and left Luke standing out alone in the woods.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

The tree looked far older than it should be, it’s grey branches were ashen and twisted. To the unknowing eye it looked like yet another dead tree in the woods, only waiting for time to return it back to the ground. But there were small impossible green buds along the worn branches a vivid bursts of color which stood out as the speeders approached.

In his youth Poe had seen the tree often. His mother took him frequently to see the small sapling, which looked half dead even then. It had grown in the years since he had last been on Yavin IV, it stood taller than all of them now and yet it still was just a small tree barely more than four meters high. But the strange sensation still washed over his body as they stopped in front of the Force tree was still present.

It was a gentle pull, drawing him not towards as place but rather a state of mind. Suddenly Poe had such clarity, ideas which seemed brilliant were running across his train of thought and all he had to do was reach out and grasp them before the inspiration was lost. He turned to look quickly at Finn and his father knowing that while neither of them could normally feel the force, they certainly could in this moment. But as much as the tree affected him he looked at those in his party whom he knew were affected even more.

The phrase Force sensitive was such a loaded case of wording.  Someone’s connection to the Force wasn’t something you could see or hear. It wasn’t like a person with perfect pitch who flinched as the slightest wrong notes as if it assaulted their ears. The powers of the Force regardless of the claims that it was all around them could be elusive at times. But in the presence of the tree it was amplified. There was so much pulling on them as they approached the tree wordlessly. It was stronger than any tractor beam, but gentler as well. More like a beckoning towards a well of knowledge rather than anything else.

The four Skywalkers each reacted differently as they moved around the base of the small tree, staying nothing as they sat down looking up at the half dead branches and the small chartreuse buds the reminder that even in darkness there was still hope.

To Luke there was a calm, a sense that he wasn’t alone anymore in fighting against the darkness, for a moment he wasn’t a leader he was a follower. To Leia is was a sense of power, an energy, an awareness that she seldom tapped into. The sensation of the Force wrapped around Ben like the arms of a parent as he felt for the first time in a very long while safe. Rey felt eclectic, like the world was suddenly in a vibrantly saturated color as she sat down on the grass.

They reached out and grabbed hand, still silent as they closed their eyes as the sounds of the wildlife of Yavin began to die down.

For a moment everything was dark and silent and then there was an explosion.

Four minds were trying to converge together to form one cohesive entity to reach out into the greater force that was the way of the Jedi, but instead their own memories were twisting together. Luke alone on an island, Rey running across the desert, Alderaan was exploding, Han Solo was dying from more than one angle. There was screaming and laughter, labored breathing and crying as the sounds mixed with the shots of blaster fire and the hums of lightsabers as the cries turned into shouts.

_Rey?_

_Luke!_

_Leia._

_Ben?_

_Hot shot._

_Little fly._

_Skyguy._

“Snips” The word around them settled, clearing into a time and place none of them had been alive to see.

The young Togruta woman was hardly more than a child, a string of Padawan beads running down her back as she stood on the bridge of what they had all come to know as a Star Destroyer. It was strange to see the ships once in Republic Control. Both sides of the Clone Wars just a front so the Emperor could rise to power.

She turned to look at her master, a young and idealistic man who would come to terrorize a galaxy in a few short years. She smiled at him and he smiled back. It was strange to see. Rey moved around, knowing the layout of the wreckage of this type of ship well, but before she could move further in the memory the image around her changed once more.

Sometimes it was just flashes of images, sometimes it was just words shouted and whispered and yelled. It was a frenzy, a swirling panic of ideas and memories both old and new before their eyes. Sometimes in the swirling moments of time she saw the faces of the others with whom Rey had joined hands with around the base of the Force Tree. Luke was resolute, his face almost in a scowl, as he passed by the images, a man on a mission. Leia would be standing tall and statuesque a calm exterior demeanor which she had developed through many years of politics, but every time she would see the young unmarred face of Anakin Skywalker she would flinch ever so slightly. It had been more than half her lifetime but she still hadn’t fully managed to accept who he was. The other young man looked as lost and confused as Rey felt.

The images continued to swirl past them and Rey still felt the strong physical force on her hands as her mind traveled wildly through time. They were mostly images of the Clone War, something which bothered her companions. They wanted to know about the present not the past, but Rey didn’t mind looking at half a century ago. Someone cursed aloud and with another swirl of light and sound the image changed again.

Grey, red and black, the colors seemed to make the dueling pair stand out even more. The four descendants stood to the side unable to do anything as the cloaked master and the jaded apprentice fought. There was little beauty to their skills, a stark comparison to the previous images of the pair fighting side by side. Nether was desperate for the win, but for the battle to be over. Weapons clashed as the swirled around one another, each attach more brutish. Ahsoka making each strike harder as she beat her master down toward she ground. She was losing control her eyes glossing over with rage as she struck the hilt of his blade out of his hand.

Vader said nothing as he stood still the only sounds the hum of her double sabers and the labored breathing coming from the man with half a mask. He was waiting for her to finish him, to avenge the master she had once had. The onlookers each leaned forward, breaths held in anticipation.

She stepped back, almost as if catching herself coming out of a daze of uncontrollably. There was another rasp of breath from Vader as he stood, reaching out his hand to call his weapon back to him. For a moment it seemed as if he would turn and strike her down. Then he began to walk forward his heavy steps echoing in the cavernous room as the image changed once more.

She was older than the vision Rey had seen of her. Her long lekku were nearly down to her knees now as she stood looking out of a window, cracked with neglect and broken with age. The room behind her was faded and the chairs which lined the edges of the circular room half eaten away by various creatures.

“Where are we?” Ben asked in a hoarse voice breaking the long silence in the group.

No one answered him as they continued to move about the room. Rey stepped up to the window next to Ashoka. The world beyond the window was not of the same planet in which they were standing and yet it was all so vividly real just like it had been when she was in Maz’s palace. As if she could reach out and touch the woman next to her, as if she were to speak the other woman would be able to hear her. The sensation hadn’t stopped being jarring.

Rey looked out at the sprawling forests beyond. The trees were hundreds perhaps thousands of feet tall, twisting high over rocks and covered with moss. Birds were singing in the air, mixed with the occasional howl or mechanical high pitches whine. She wasn’t sure if she had seen this place before, with its mountains rising high and jagged above the horizon, the clouds mixing in with the trees. It was all before her eyes is such vivid shades of blue and green, the seas of ferns and the valleys of wildflowers.

Leia’s lips parted with a sad smile. “Endor.” She breathed her words almost lost in the wind.

They all came out of the vision abruptly.

The three men who had been looking on said nothing to one another as the Skywalkers approached the tree which was both dead and alive. They didn’t know what to say, but as they saw eyes flutter open both Poe and Finn took a step forward willing to help in any way possible.

Luke was turning to look at his sister, his face twisted in confusion.  “Why would she hide there?” 

“Maybe it was symbolic.” She replied a glimmer of adoration on her face. “It was above that moon that the Empire was brought to its knees. It was the beginning of the end.”

Finn was helping Rey to her feet, but for a moment she wished it was Jessika, but she had chosen to stay behind.

Rey looked down at her feet, the words and images that she had seen still ringing out in her mind. Luke was speaking with Leia about how he was going to take Rey to the moon of Endor, but she wanted to resist him. What were they going to find other than an old woman, one of the few people still alive who had lived through the Clone Wars what good was Ahsoka Tano going to do in this new war against the new evil which had formed in the galaxy.

They moved back to the speeders as Luke and Leia continued to strategize loudly. Rey felt ignored as she sat down in one of the open aired speeders, feeling the warm sun on her neck as she looked up and met the eyes of her cousin. He had the same expression on his face, the same annoyance of being ignored by their parents rather than being brought into the fold.

They arrived back at the former base knowing they would be leaving with the hour.

Rey jumped out of the speeder and was walking through the hanger not paying attention to what was going on around her. Was this what it was like, fighting in a war? Going from one place to another, hardly any time to rest and catch your breath or even say goodbye? What would life be when this war was over, if they managed to survive what would they do then?

She didn’t let herself think those things as she walked back into the quarters which were temporarily hers. Jessika stood the worry clear on her face. “When?” She asked sharply.

“In an hour.” Rey said as the door closed behind them.

She gave a small nod as she outstretched her hand. “Then let’s make it count.”

**

She was still mad at her son. There was a small nugget of anger which Leia felt would never fully be diminished. But he had, in a way, only done what his parents had asked of him. It wasn’t a good enough excuse, not in her mind. As much as she loved her son, she hated the man whom he had become.

Kylo Ren, it represented everything the galaxy had come to hate in the Skywalker family. She still remembered the day not too long ago when her true parentage had been revealed. Friends, allies, colleagues they had all turned on her out of the fear that she was somehow like Vader himself. But she, unlike Luke had never seen a familiar side of the man who tortured her and made her watch her home planet be destroyed. Was it common knowledge in the First Order that Kylo Ren was in fact the grandson of Vader? Surely he would be praised if they knew. She thought of Rey for a moment, the galaxy would eat her alive out of shame for her families past and current actions if they really knew who she was. It wasn’t fair that they had to live in the shadow of those who came before them.

Leia opened the door to the room which she had shared with her son the night before. He had been cold towards her; she had expected nothing less since they had smuggled him into the former base. But his behavior during their vision session had been intriguing. She knew that he felt conflicted, torn and shattered but the man she has seen watching history before his eyes was lost.

He was sitting on the bed his eyes closed in meditation, yet his face was nothing but calm. With every breath that seem to switch back and forth as if there was a sour taste in his mouth.

“Ben?” Leia whispered and her son opened his eyes.

“It should be me who goes with Luke.”

 The boldness of her son’s statement surprised her “What do you mean?” Leia asked him curiously.

He looked down at his hands. He had seen something in the haze of visions, a place which he had only once been in as a child. He had begged Luke to take him into the ruins of the old Jedi Temple of Coruscant. He had seen those cracked and dusty halls moments ago, and part of him felt ashamed at his revelation. It wasn’t supposed to be his job. He had done nothing to grant him the privilege to go searching for any great former masters and yet he knew the quest would benefit him greatly.

“It’s nothing.” He muttered.

She tilted her head as she looked at him. “Have you always ignored your instincts?” His mother cooed at him wondering what had happened to the boy she once knew. Her conscious quickly replied; she had sent him off to war when he was far too young. After the countless battle shocked solders she had seen was she really surprised when he returned back to her hardly recognizable anymore.

Maybe that was what she had to do, forget that the man in front of her was her son. Try and see him as just another being under her command. She could try and see him that way but she was doubtful she would be able to succeed.

She straightened up, trying to muster the calm reprimanding expression Mon Mothma wore so frequently. “Are you going to be able to complete the task of taking me to the First Order?”

It was a step down the wrong path. He was sure of it, and yet he didn’t know how he could convince his mother of such a reality. “Yes.” He replied.

She nodded, “Then I will see about transport.”

**

Rey watched her going through the drawers. "Um those are mine." She called out apprehensively as Jessika pulled out a pair of black underpants.

"So we can fuck each other senseless with our fingers but this is a boundary?" Jessika laughed with a smile on her face.

"Don't you have your own?"

"They're all dirty. Come on I'm going to be captured it's not like the First Order is going to give me a clean pair of pants to wear while I'm all holed up in some prison cell."

Rey responded in an airy tone. "You never know. Plus aren’t all of our clothes standard issue how do you know that the ones that you get back in the wash are the same ones that you were wearing beforehand? It's not like your name is written in them."

Jessica raised her eyebrows as she closed the door and opened another one.  "I've heard a rumor that some people have their names written in their underwear." It was clear who she was referring to. “You'll have to ask someone close to the source though for verification"

Her face fell as she closed the drawer and sat down on the bed next to Rey. "I want to look my best when you come on in and rescue me. I can just imagine it ‘I'm Rey Skywalker here to rescue you." She tried to laugh, but it was hard when she was imaging what kind might go wrong.

"Hey" Rey muttered trying to cheer her up. "I love you."

"I know you do, but maybe you shouldn't" Jessika whispered gently. What Ben he told her was ringing in her ears. That loving a Skywalker was a sure way to die. "Have you?... have you seen if everything's going to be alright? If I'm going to live? Can you even tell that?"

She shook her head honestly not knowing what the answer was. She had seen things count of things the past the future the present but it was never clear to her until it was too late. She wanted to believe that Jessica would be okay that they would live a happy life that the war would be over soon and then she would never have to worry about resistance or light side or dark side ever again but Rey didn't believe that.

“Don’t forget me.” Jessika whispered against her chest.

Rey looked down at her face memorizing it quickly. “How could I ever.” She said with a smile.

But the time came for them to part. They walked hand in hand back to the hanger where the ships awaited them all. Luke was standing with his arms across his chest, the tall man next to him dressed temporarily in makeshift armor. It was a sight meant to both impress and place upon them the gravity of their missions. But both women took to laughter as they caught sight of another scene before them.

Poe Dameron was stammering as he looked down at Leia. She had repeated herself three times already and yet he still couldn’t believe what she had asked of him. “General…. we…. can’t…. just…..”

“Oh for stars sake Dameron.” She said, exasperated no longer caring about propriety. “Just take the damn ship.” She hissed.

“But it’s…. it’s….”

_It’s the Millennium Falcon_. He wanted to tell her loudly. He didn’t have any right to fly that ship back to the next Resistance base. It was more than just any ordinary ship he was fully aware of the fact.

Leia was as well. She didn’t want to see it leave again, it was like having a part of Han still with her. But she didn’t trust anyone else to keep it safe, not even Luke or Rey. She looked up at Finn and Poe. She had seen so many young people come and go in these wars, dying before their time was through for the cause they believed in. Sometimes when she had a quiet moment, when her mind wandered back to those whom she had lost she felt guilt as having outlived so many people who were more valuable than her.

“Just don’t let Lando fly it.” She said as she fondly remembered the two friends battle of ownership over the spacecraft. “You’ll never get it back from him.”

A smile fell across Poe’s face. She remembered the first time she had seen the grin years previous as she met the freshly starfighter. He had only been racing at the time, making his living off of airshow tricks. She had pulled him aside, enthralling him with tales of the adventures she had been on with his mother before she spoke to him in a hushed whisper about joining the Resistance.

She told him once again want she had said long ago, almost hearing the voice of Bail Organa slip out alongside her own. “ _There are many in this galaxy who need help, and you are in the opportunity to give them assistance.”_

He stood a little bit taller, giving her a sharp military salute. She had never been raised to be the commander of a military, and yet it was where she felt most at home. She returned it weakly as both men turned to one another to speak excitedly.

“I can’t believe it.” Poe whispered as he interlaced his arm into the crook of Finns. “I get to fly the Millennium Falcon.”

Finn said nothing in return about helping fly the ship off of Jakku. The majority of the work had been done by Rey, and they really only had a few hours at most on the ship on their own. “Where are we supposed to go, Da’kar?”

Poe shook his head slightly knowing that as much as they could help the Resistance, they didn’t want to leave their friends behind who were walking into danger. “I think we might be able to find something else to do.” He replied with a twinkle in his eye.

They stopped their merry chatting as they noticed the two women walking into the hanger the air suddenly suffocation and downcast as it came time for them to say goodbye once more. They were getting good at farewells though it didn’t seem to Poe to be a trait he desired to have. He moved towards Jessika as Finn wrapped his arms around Rey.

“Any tips?” Jessika asked him lightly.

Poe pondered for a moment before he remembered too that he was once a captive of the First Order as well. “Don’t let them get you down too much.” He gave her a fleeting grin. “At least your capture is just for pretend and rescue is on the way.”

She nodded quickly. “Good luck.” She said, though Poe knew she was the one who needed all the luck in the world.

He was tempted to say something else, but instead he just replied. “You too.” Before giving her one last hug and walking away.

Finn looked at Rey half in marveled. From the first moment he met her he had been stuck but her strong nature, her conviction and her determination that she was the only person she needed for herself. She had learned to work with a team but sometimes Finn could see it in her eyes, the desire to be alone.

“It’s a miracle that we’re here.” Finn began as he wrapped his arms around her. She still wasn’t as prone to physical displays of affection as he assumed in his mind that she was. “Considering where we started from.”

She pulled back her face drawn in a realistic frown. “It would be even more of a miracle to stay alive.”

He shook his head. “You can’t think like that.” He scaled her. “I know these past few days haven’t been easy but Rey…” She had been a shining bright star when he met her. Maybe it was because she was one of the few non-Stormtrooper people he had ever met, but it seemed as if now her star was a little duller. “I’ll see you again soon. This will all be over soon.”

She smiled but it was false, she would rather be going off with Finn and Poe rather than Luke. She didn’t want to go to Endor, to her there was no purpose to that journey. Why were they talking the long way around when all they had to do was wait a few days to go and rescue Leia and Jess.

Rey walked away seeing Leia head towards her. Leia didn’t judge her or expect something out of her. She took her for what she was, she spoke to her in calm tones and for the most part told her the things in her best interest.

“Try.” Leia said sternly as she met Rey’s eyes. She didn’t have to say anything else other than the singular word. Rey knew exactly what she meant, try and get along with Luke no matter what.

Rey gave her a shrug to admit that she would try. “Are you going to be alright?”

“It takes a lot to break me.” Leia replied honestly. Though she wasn’t as young as she once had been, perhaps she wasn’t so unbreakable anymore. But in her youth she had been willing to do anything to secure freedom for her people she would be willing to do it once more. “I’ll see you soon.” She whispered in her ear as Rey bent down to embrace her.

“May the Force be with you.” She said standing and seeing Luke in the distance, she wanted to believe him to give him a second chance. But he was willing to let her go, to slip away from his arms, she still wasn’t convinced that it was protecting her.

Rey looked across the hanger to see Jessika, she wanted their goodbye to last a lifetime but as she made her way towards her but the man in the mask stopped her in her path. She looked up, imagining the face behind the Mandelorian helmet. She could feel his eyes staring down at her and trying to see through her again. She looked up at him, flowing thinking so clearly how she was still mad at him as well.

The helmet bobbed up and down. “Be careful.” He warned his voice dark and distorted.

She gave him a nod. “Look after Jess.” Rey said as she brushed past him and rushed towards Jessika pulling her into her arms and kissing her fiercely. Feeling her knees go week as her head turned dizzy. There had been dreams, so many dreams that she had dreamt when she was younger but now it seemed that the world had crushed them all. Still she held onto Jessika knowing that she was the small fraction of the dream she could still have.

“I’ll see you again, very soon.” Jessika whispered into her ears as Rey felt her hot tears fall onto her cheek. “Everything will be fine.” Jess added as she pulled away and ran her hands though Rey’s hair.

“I know it will.” Rey said as she let a grin dawn on her face as she looked at the woman who was willing to be taken and tortured just for her. How many people in the worlds could say that about the person they loved. It didn’t matter. They were in charge of their own destiny now, nothing was going to stop them.

“I love you.” Jessika whispered as she pulled Rey in closer to herself once more.

“I love you too.” Rey replied stepping back knowing that they couldn’t drag this out any longer than they already had.

Finn and Poe left first, the Millennium Falcon flying away in a whirling swish as the others looked on. Jessika shouldering her bag following Leia and Ben up the ramp of a small shuttle. Rey and Luke stood side by side watching as the ship took off, but they said nothing to one another as they got into the ship of their own heading off in icy silence.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

She had seen Star Destroyers before but somehow this one seemed colossal as Jessika slowed the ship down and engaged the automatic landing sequence. She moved to the back of the small shuttle where General Organa was sitting her eyes closed in quiet contemplation. But Jessika was more taken with the man with slumped shoulders.

He was looking down at his feet, still wearing the Mandelorian armor but his face was unmasked. The silver scar across his face seemed fresh. It was strange to her that he hadn’t gotten in healed, he wore it more like a badge of honor at his failure. He didn’t notice as Jessika reached down and placed her pack on her back and placed her hands out.

“I’ve set the landing sequence we’ll be there soon” Jessika said as she pushed her hands towards him once more in a begging gesture.

He looked at her as if she was insane “The binders.” She raised her brow at him. She looked at her blue veins beneath her pale golden skin and the soft patches of faded brown bruises. Her veins were marked and she thought with a pang on how the veins on Rey’s left wrist could form the vague shape of a five pointed star if she flexed her wrist in the correct manner. “Come on.” Jess added, beginning to lose patience

“Ben you have too.” Leia breathed as she stretched out her hands as well. “It will look strange if you don’t.”

Jess was beginning to become more convinced in his change in alliance as she watched him gently take the metal clasps and gingerly place them around her hands, taking no enjoyment out of the action. He did the same on his mother, an even soured expression on his face as the ship came to a complete stop.

They had arrived. Now it was the time for the trickery to begin again.

He closed his eyes, finding within himself the anger and frustration that had been swelling within him for years. He breathed quickly, as if using a bellows to fill himself with the rotten air. His eyes flashed open and he looked at his mother, his face falling as the illusion broke.

“I can’t.” He breathed as he looked at the old lightsaber at his hip, knowing he couldn’t take it with him. He reached down and removed it from his hip, tucking it down into the bottom of Jessika’s pack.

“You have to.” Jessika replied she looked over her shoulder meeting his eye. “For Rey, you have to.” She added as he felt around finding the unfinished hilt of the red saber and placing it in his hands once more.

There was a gentle thud, their bodies swaying back and forth as they landed. A sense of dread dropped in them as well as they realized that there was no going back, the plan which they had made had to be carried out. For a moment it seemed like a monumentally foolish plan, based off of trust and lies. The three people in the shuttle looked at one another, all of them hardly able to maintain eye contact.

“You can do this.” Leia whispered, perhaps just to her son, perhaps to all of them.

He placed the helmet over his head, the bucket moving up and down in a nod as the door of the shuttle opened. The light from the landing dock shone brightly into the shuttle, they all squinted as the rushing sound of feet running towards them filled their ears. The running stopped, being replaced with the faint hum of blasters being engaged as the gleaming white armor of the Stormtroopers and their chrome clad commander came into view.

The guns rose up in warning as Ben reach up and removed the helmet on his head. Few people in the Resistance had seen his face, part of it had been a fear tactic, part of it had been self-preservation, but Phasma rose a hand, recognizing the man calling for her troops to stand down.

Capitan Phasma tilted her bucket covered head about to make a half witty remark at the man out of his usual uniform before she saw the prisoners. Her head straightened with admiration, the capture of the great leader of the Resistance was a great victory for the First Order.

“Hux?” He asked his voice as dry as it had been in the Temple on Dantooine. Wordlessly half of the troopers scattered away to go and find the general but Phasma remained.  

He took both Leia and Jessika by the arm, pushing them ahead of him down the ramp and out into the hanger of the Star Destroyer. “Set up two cells.” He told the silver woman as he walked by assuming the role of command once more. “Maximum security.”

It was hard to hear over the roar of the ships engines and the calls of the intercom. Men and women in all sorts of black and grey uniforms ran from place dancing around droids and equipment as they kept their head focused on the task at hand, it was as if no one had noticed them landing at all. Jessika looked around, hardly able to take it in, overwhelmed at how much more organized the First Order seemed to be in comparison to the Resistance. Then the calm washed across the landing bay as they began to notice who was walking through.

Soldiers and troopers stopped in place, taking a moment to double check what they were seeing, before they moved on with their tasks. Their mouths opened to speak with the person nearest them in a hushed whisper as a clear pathway formed in the crowded space.

Jessika’s jaw quivered as she feared for her life as the quivering voice whisper in her ear. "Don't look back" She didn’t know if he was talking to her or to himself, let alone what he meant. A battalion of uniform soldiers was forming around them, someone was pulling at Jessika, taking her away pulling the pack off her back.

She kept trying to see where she was being taken, but Jessika was soon separated from her compatriots as she was pulled and prodded like nothing more than an animal. She felt humiliated as she tripped over floor grates hearing the laughter behind the helmets as they inspected her body, patting her down to find weapons pulling at her clothes and tugging at her hair. Her pack had disappeared and she prayed it had slipped into safe hands or else she would have to explain the presence of the lightsaber within. She only felt a small bit of relief as she was thrown unceremoniously into a windowless room, the door closing quickly behind her.

She sat down on the long recessed bench, looking at the black and grey walls, praying to the stars that she hadn’t fallen victim to the greatest deception of all time.

**

Rey panted out of breath as she stopped on the trail. They were surrounded by large ferns, taller even than them. The pine trees were covered in moss, their branches beginning hundreds of feet off the ground everything around her was massive and ancient. She felt small, inconsequential, just a tiny person in a small moment of time compared to the world around her which had taken some millennia to appear this way.

“I don’t know why she felt compelled to pick this place.” Luke said as he looked around. He had echoes the sentiment several times in the journey but standing now on the forest moon of Endor, reminded of the battle here, he felt the need to say it once more.

“Is there some secret I don’t know?” Rey asked breathless. When he looked at her clueless as she pointed between him and herself. Luke was considerably older and yet breathing perfectly fine.

It had been the first thing she had said to him since they left Yavin 4. He had tried to initiate a conversation with her several times but he would have been better served talking to a wall. He sighed, his shoulders rising and falling. Suddenly he didn’t seem interested in trying to speak with her. He knew he should, he knew he was being selfish in his own way, but he was too exhausted to want to try anything else.

“Come on.” He said pointing to a marker up ahead. “We’re nearly there. And watch out for the red bushes, they have thorns.” He added as they set down the narrowing path.

She continued breathlessly as the path narrowed, bushes begging to grow in the way. Luke didn’t seem to mind, in fact it seemed almost as if he enjoyed it. But Rey continued on huffing, the sheer amount of humidity in the air getting to her. At least on Jakku it had been dry, here from the moment she stepped onto the planet she was soaking.

Part of her didn’t care about the mission. Part of it all felt so useless to Rey as she continued down, following the man before her blindingly. The path continued on and Rey followed until they came to an outcrop. They were overlooking a large lake lined with rocks and uneven shores. There was one dwelling nestled down along the shore, highly usually compared to the majority of canopy located real estate on the moon.

Rey paused trying to catch her breath as she felt her whole body pounding to the beat of her heart. It wasn’t an excited throb; it was a desperate warning. She was pushing herself too hard, only a few days ago she had lost a hand. She wasn’t as invincible as she once thought.

Luke paused for a moment as if caught in a strange moment of déjà vu before he began the decent. No matter what he did it appeared there was always going to be someone who had more knowledge them himself. The realization was almost a relief.  He had masqueraded as a master once, and that had ended disastrously for his pupils. Some days he didn’t even know what he was fighting for. They had won the war but not all the battles. What was it all for it there was nothing substantial, no better universe to pass on to their children.

He knew no matter how hard he studied, how many ancient places that he seeked, that he would never be fully have the knowledge that the Jedi of old once had. Looking inside the house knowing that it continued a woman who had been a real Jedi, trained since she was a child gave him hope.

Going downhill was nearly as hard as going uphill. Her body slamming down onto the uneven grown torn between being cautious and going excruciatingly slow or moving swiftly at a running pace and tripping by accident. It was serene down by the lake, but the calm of nature didn’t seem to calm the two who approached the small house. They were filled with expectations and hopes about what the woman inside would tell them, how she would guide them and provide them with aid on their trip.

Luke approached and knocked at the door, waiting anxiously as he heard sounds of movement inside. Then the door opened and he looked at the woman before him. Her orange skin was still youthful even if her eyes were weary. The long tendrils from her head moved slightly from side to side as she turned her head to look at the pair before her. She was dressed for survival and exploration, a knife handing off of her belt her clothing practical as if she was ready to go to war and yet she had avoided most fighting since the days of her youth.

She didn’t have to ask their names; she could sense who them were. She lowered her head slightly as she saw the expectation in both their eyes, she feared she would never be able to fulfill what they wanted out of her.

“Master Tano.” Luke said confidently.

**

They had updated the technology, Leia noticed as the was being paraded down the corridors, practically hearing the voices whispering shame as she passed. She was curious as to which planet or system had provided the First Order with such technology, the politician in her wanting to immediately order sanctions on those who supported the First Order. But Leia knew that the corruption within the organization was deep. She wasn’t fighting a new faction, but rather the glued remains of what she had personally broken down over thirty years ago.

Her son had his hand around her neck, guiding her gently as men and woman came up to him, calling him Kylo Ren. The chosen name hurt, she wanted to know why he had chosen it at all. He was giving them orders, calmly as if he had never left, but the grimace of pain on Leia face was a lie.

“Sir.” Her son stopped her as a pale spitting face of an angular redhead stepped in their path.

Only Leia heard Ben’s exasperated sigh. “Inform Leader Snoke that I have returned with two hostages”

Hux give a sharp nod, waving a hand of to have another officer perform the task as he straightedge his spine. Leia wondered if he had studied old recordings of Tarkin, he was certainly trying to emulate the man. “Sir, my troops looked for you on the planet, be we were unable to…” He paused almost wincing prematurely. He expected the other man to lash out in anger.

_Intimidate him._ Leia thought _Scare him._ She concentrated, hoping her son would hear her.

“Perhaps you will be reconsidering your aversion to conditioned troops.” He said darkly as he pushed Leia forward making Hux jump to the side.

The pair marched forward as he led Leia towards a cell which was not unlike the ones she had been in on the Death Star. The door closed behind them and her eyes were drawn upward as her son removed her shackles.

“Is this room monitored?” She asked as she looked for the signs of video or voice recording capabilities.

He shook his head as he took a step back, leaning against the door and looking down at his mother who seemed so small. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She replied like second nature, being in a cell was something she had gotten used to a long time ago. Imprisonment went hand in hand with leading a rebellion. “You’ll need proof.” She said as she sat down on the hard bed which she knew would wreak havoc on her back.

“Proof?”

She nodded. “That Amara is Snoke. Something to oppose her, take away her credibility.” She knew that the woman wasn’t the only person behind or propping up the First Order, but she knew how the revelation would make life harder for her.

He gave a slow nod, thinking of somehow managing to get a hold of transmissions and signals. “I have to go now. But I’ll be back.” He spoke the words in a slow and uncharacteristically labored tone.

“Ben.” Lead breathed catching his eye. “Just remember that underneath it all, you’re still Ben. You’re still the boy who was brave.”

**

“Master Tano.” Luke said confidently.

She shook her head as she corrected him. “I was never a Master.” She whispered her voice breaking as she looked up at Luke. At the son of the man who had been like family to her. Even during the heat of the Clone Wars, when it looked like the Republic was winning she had never expected to live to see such a sight before her.

“But you are Ahsoka Tano?”

She turned to look at the young woman who had asked her breathlessly the question of her identity. It had been her name, the one given to her by a family she never knew, one of the many names that she had used over the years. She looked at the young woman, sensing the strength and determination underneath her weary exterior.

“Who are you?” Ahsoka breathed as she looked at her curiously.

“Rey.” She said flatly. It was a name but it wasn’t an answer to her question. The young woman was powerful and reckless. Headstrong and full of convictions, her eyes fluttered down to the lightsaber she was wearing. Combined such qualities could be disastrous.

“Can we come in?” Luke asked.

She looked up at his eyes. He was still expecting a mentor, someone to teach him how to use the Force. How to guide his hand, it had never been something which she was qualified to do. She inhaled sharply. “I’m not a Jedi.” She said darkly with the intention of squashing any lofty expectations that Luke had. “I never was. I left the Order before my trails, I was only ever a Padawan.”

“I know that.” Luke replied.

She stepped aside allowing them to enter. “Good.” She said.

They inside of the house was more lavish that he was expecting. It wasn’t as minimalist as the hovel that Yoda had lived in on Degobah. There were mementos hanging from the walls, images of friends she had thought the years. The floors were covered with thick skins and the furniture had been imported from a core world.

She showed them to a long table made out of pale stone. She pushed aside the heap of a heavy cloak which she had been repairing with a hand needle and allowed them to sit facing her.

“Do you know who we are?” Luke asked as she grabbed a bottle of water and placed it on the table along with three glasses. Rey quickly poured herself a glass and devoured it greedily.

“You’re Anakin and Padme’s son.” She said looking at him with a strange fondness.

He nodded. Strange to hear someone else in the galaxy refer to his parents by their first names so casually. “And her?” He indicated towards Rey.

Ahsoka sat up a bit straighter as she made eye contact with Rey. She looked almost through the woman with a haunting gaze. Her eyes widened almost an unperceivable amount. “She’s your daughter.” She said not at all surprised.

Luke nodded. “Her mother….” He paused, it was difficult for him to say. It was even more difficult for Rey to sit there as they talked about her as if she wasn’t in the room. “Is Amara Kenobi.”

A laughing smile drew across Ashoka’s face. “Obi Wan’s daughter.” She echoed joyously.

Luke frowned. “That wasn’t the reaction I had when I learned that he had a child.” He had felt betrayed and scalded at the idea when he had met Amara. That Obi Wan had gone and done what he had been so against Anakin doing. When he had learned how she had been taken away from her parents to be raised by Vader.

“You never met Duchess Satine of Mandelore.” Ahsoka said airily.

Rey learned forward. “Who?” She asked.

Ahsoka smiled even wider, even though half of the memories from the Clone Wars still brought a tear to her eye. “The woman he almost left the Jedi Order for.” Luke blinked at her dumbfounded as Rey continued to laugh. “None of us are as saintly in our youth as we are in old age.” She added.

Luke looked down at the table, as he let her words resonate. He had whined and complained in his youth, he had been reckless and through too much about himself rather than others. He had been foolish too, to think that he could rebuild a Jedi Order once again. He had trusted Amara, he chose to hide his daughter away and relegate her to the same life he once had. He saw now in his age all his follies in bright colors, dulling the heroic actions he had taken.

“You’re not here for stories about the way the world once was.” Ahsoka said lightly

“No we need your help.” Luke said.

“I’m not a Jedi.” She repeated once more.

“I know.” Rey replied as she learned forward and looked at her. She was tempted to say that she wasn’t as well. “But I saw you. I had a vision of you in the Temple on Dantooine with my Aunt.” Ahsoka nodded, remembering the day from long ago. “I went there on Luke’s advice; I saw my mother. She was Vader’s apprentice; did you know that? She is the woman behind the First Order which is terrorizing the galaxy and trying to reestablish the Empire. She wanted me dead.”

She shook her head, her voice sweet yet heartbroken. “I’m sorry that you had to see that, but I still don’t know how I can help.”

“You can take her down.” Luke said darkly. “Ahsoka you were the true appreciate of Anakin Skywalker, you have the power to do what I can’t.”

She sighed, wondering I he couldn’t do it, or wasn’t able to bring himself to killing the woman he once loved.

“And how am I supposed to do that?” She asked

**

He was back in the black outfit, feeling the heavy weight of the many layers as he stood in the docking bay, looking through the view screen in his mask. To those who had seen him arrive it seemed that he was back in his usual fashion but to the man inside it felt like quite the opposite.

He had always been Ben Solo, it had been the name his parents had given him upon his birth. A name he sometimes hated or liked depending on his mood, regardless of any rank or titles which he may have given himself it was impossible to forget that name. The hundreds of different ways it had been shouted, barked, whispered, murmured during his lifetime. But those who stood at his side didn’t know that was who he really was, Kylo Ren that was the name that they were comfortable with.

_Ben_. He had been named after a great man in the hopes that he would continue on that legacy. He was glad that the soldiers beside him only knew him as the dark shadow to cower from. They couldn’t see his face; which was twisted in a grimace. They only saw the image of terror which he had created, the persona of darkness and uncertainty.  

He should be losing control. At this very moment, from stepping back on the Star Destroyer, it was as if they were expecting it. After all he was half defeated and had brought back the wrong prisoners. But he wasn’t enraged. He wasn’t entirely calm either, but he realized that ever since stepping into that temple something within had been tugged. He was like a ship whose course was slowly being corrected. The charade was over; he didn’t have to fight against the way the Force was pulling on him anymore. Slowly he was making his way back to the light side.

The ship, an old imperial shuttle, a gleaming relic of a fallen empire landed in the hanger. Its wings folding upwards as it hissed to a stop, the impressive display of troops standing straight at attention as the ramp lowered with a shrill whine.  The personal guards, dressed in the old trooper uniforms of the Empire began to exit the ship, followed by the woman in the white militaristic uniform.

Amara Skywalker emerged her Auburn hair twisted upon her head, her nose slightly upturned as she walked past the troops ignoring them all and heading straight to her apprentice. Beside him Hux’s face turned into his familiar constipated grimace. “Moff Skywalker.”

Even her title within the First Order was an antiquated clutch on the Empire. To those who only knew her as Moff Skywalker, the woman who flew in with the old ship, who demanded that her personal legion was equipped with the older styles of armor, who wore the old white uniform of the Imperial Security Bureau it was all and act of intimidation. Down even to her name, Skywalker. She liked it when people assumed that she was a direct relation of Vader rather than the woman who married his son.

She didn’t even give Hux a sharp nod of recognition as she turned and looked at him. “Rey?”

“Dead.” He lied. To himself his voice sounded small but he knew through all the modulators it came out deep and accented.

Her face did not change as the mention of her daughter’s death. “Then why have you called me here?”

“I have taken a pilot of the Resistance captive as well as Leia Organa.”

There was a small quiver on Amara’s face, the hint of a smile as her eyes widened in glee. “Quite the catch then.” She muttered out of the corner of her mouth. “Take me to her.”

They walked through the corridors, not a single word spoken between them, but stil a great deal of sounds around them. The heavy stomping of feet, the creaking of armor, the gentle hum of weapons. He could sense the excitement in her, the giddiness at the chance to hurt Leia and by extension those who followed her. It terrified him, knowing that their intentions clashed, knowing that if she were to truly threaten his mother’s life it would cause him to reveal his true loyalties.

The door opened and Leia was struck most by the woman wearing the old ISB uniform. She looked like a ghost of the past rather than the threat of the presence. Leia’s eyes tilted upward to look at her and she felt the muscles in her face twitch unconsciously as she saw the apparition of her son behind her.

Amara turned her head her voice bitter. “Leave.” She snapped.

The man in the mask teetered uneasily for a moment almost feeling the urge to lash out before he turned, his many layers billowing out behind him as he stormed away. The door closed with an abrupt clank leaving the two women alone in the room.

“Princess Leia.” She muttered as a grin crossed her lips. “It’s seems you always end up here in the end.”

Leia raised her brows in a gesture of compliance. “It’s not like I have a home planet you can destroy anymore.” She said gruffly. “Besides,” She laughed. “Look at you. You do know the Empire was defeated right?” Leia was confident she knew that she had an upper hand.

Amara had always been beautiful but to see such a pristine face twisted in such a sour glance felt like a personal victory to Leia. “However, your experiment of a New Republic seems to have failed.” She asked it almost as if it was a question. Using the same cutting tone which women had developed a few millennia ago to scald one another; their words as sharp as a man’s sword.

Leia tutted. “At least I had the courage to lead people while showing my face, rather than hiding behind the hologram of a twisted man.”

Amara crossed her arms across her chest, her held tilting as she looked at Leia. “But you did hide.” She corrected her simply. “You hide behind the image of the being one of the few survivors of Alderaan, you hide behind the image of your father Bail Organa, that is until the universe discovered who you really were.” She paused allowing Leia to remember the day not to look ago when the information about her true parentage was leaked loudly to the rest of the worlds. “Leia Skywalker is a fetching name, but I doubt it would have gotten you far in the universe.”

“And yet….” Leia paused running through the phrasing of the jab in her head. “You would do nearly anything to swap who are fathers were.”

The other woman stiffened, as if it was too personal. But they were both so intertwined and connected in their personal lives that it hardly seemed to matter anymore.

“Were not so different you and I. One little push and you would forget all about making the _right_ decisions.” She paused a tiny smile running across her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You are so caught up in what is the best thing for everyone else.  And yet you were too blind to see your own son slipping away.” Amara began, her voice bitter. Leia played her part, acting as if the words deflected upon her personal armor.

“It was so easy to lure him, to tell him with wide eyes the tales of the Empire. The truth about the man whom you hid from him. He wanted to know so much about Vader, it's a shame you never had the courage to tell your son the truth yourself.”

If she was going to make personal attacks about their children Leia would not hesitate to attack back. “And if she was still alive, in time would you have told your daughter? Not only about the man you idolized but also the actions that you followed under his hand?”

“Was it any better than what you did?” Amara began. “You and your Rebellion? There is blood on your hands as well. It wasn’t an easy war, there are no easy wars. We both did what we believed was right.”

Leia tilted her head. “What was right?” She echoed “Did you honestly believe that your actions were justified, that you were righteous?”

“We made the galaxy better. A fair place were planets were equals, far better than what any Jedi ever did. They kept no peace, they let the wars rage on while they mused on philosophy.”

“When I was little I read about all the Jedi.” Leia began, the Organa’s in their foresight were so conscious to let her learn about the lost collection of knights. “Your father Obi Wan Kenobi. He was a kind man, a caring man who fought for the rights of others. Wouldn't you want him to be proud of you? Would he want you fighting against the darkness yourself, continuing what he did?"

Amara rolled her eyes as she hissed. “You think those lines haven't been used in me before? That there is a difference between what you say now to save your own life and what Luke told me all those years ago when he found me after he war. Luke was the same, still holding onto the idiotic philosophical ramblings that brought down the Jedi Order. Times evolve and so must the Jedi.”

“So it was all a lie.” Leia said as she sat up taller “You never really cared for him. It seemed like you did?” She said with the tiniest of grins.

“It was an illusion, a trick.”

“I don’t think it was.” Leia whispered with the knowing smile that woman gave one another when they knew something so much deeper than words could communicated.

Amara shook her head, the pristine façade beginning to crack just the smallest of amounts as she looked down at Leia. The woman was still in shackles. It was almost a pity that she had chosen politicians over her powers, she could have been quite the Jedi if she had wanted to be. And yet her years of verbal evasion and skills of perception allowed her words to hurt.

“It was just another sacrifice for the Empire.” Amara breathed trying to regain control. “But you wouldn’t know anything about loss.” The words had meant to strike at Leia and they easily met their mark. But Amara did not have the upper hand in their conversation.

"I have lost nearly everything,” Leia began her voice slowly rising in a crescendo as she was unable to maintain control. “The mother who gave birth to me, the parents who raised me, the planet I grew up on, the father I never got to know.  The friends and collages which I had. My son…my husband...” She paused her voice cracking as she continued on, the next thing was hard for her to say but it was the truth, “And I lost you too Amara. You were a friend and a sister to me, and I lost you as well."

Amara looked down at her glimmering white boots, as if for a moment she had been swayed by Leia’s words. Maybe if the past had turned out differently the two woman really would have been friends, but their sides in the war had been ingrained in themselves for too long, and they were too stubborn to change.

"You never had me in your side to begin with.” Amara replied “You were hidden away to be the hope that drunken creatures whispered about in dark cantinas at the edges of the galaxy, I was hidden away to be your downfall.  We played are parts rather perfectly haven't we?"

“Your daughter is dead.” Leia said loudly, her frustration mounting. She wanted to hurt Amara to cut her down with her own words rather than just defend herself even if it was a lie that she was praying the other woman didn’t see through. “Don't you care? Doesn’t your heart break, knowing that? "

"She was my own child and you conspired to take her away from me.” Amara yelled back at her, and for once Leia was satisfied “You were so focused on that task you didn't realize you had already lost your own son. Ben. Did you ever think that he would come close to the mythical man who you named him after? He was far less honorable than you chose to remember him. I remember watching my mother die, I remember waiting for my father to come and save me, but he never did?"

“I can’t do anything to change that?”

“And yet we repeated history.” Amara winced. “You took my daughter away from me.” She said sharply

“I wasn’t the only one.” Leia snapped.

She shifted on her feet. “I know. Luke’s weakness has always been about the people that he cared about and now it will be the cause of his death. He’ll come and save you because your brother is the only one you have left in the universe. But don’t worry when I’m done you’ll see those who you love again…. In whatever world awaits us after death.” She turned around sharply the door closing after her.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

“You relegated your daughter to the same life that you hated?” Ahsoka said as she looked at Luke with a disapproving glace.

He hadn’t seen many people looked at him like that in recent years. Though he could only image that it was how so many people had the right to view him. He had failed in nearly everything that he had tried to accomplish since the war had ended. His work, his marriage, his own child. He still remembered vividly the idea that he was the last hope, that thought had been instilled on him on Degobah. He wondered if the heavenly ghosts of his teachers still saw him that way now.

They were sitting by the large lake, the sun lowering down over the tree covered hills. The distant flickers of nighttime flames in distant villages beginning to spark the horizon. The woman beside him seemed calm and collected yet he could sense in her weariness from fighting longer than he had been alive. She had come here to rest, to leave behind the wars; but they always managed to find her in the end.

There was so much he wanted to ask her. She was the last person in the universe who had been trained in a real Jedi temple. That intrigued him, but not as much as it did to know that she had known both of his parents well. So far she had done all the asking.

“Luke.” She called out his name breaking his train of thought. He sighed knowing now that he never should have hidden Rey away. At least not intended for the rest of her lifetime. He should have done it himself rather than delegate the task to his best friend, he should have gone back for her years ago. But as much as he knew things should have gone differently he also knew there was nothing he could change about the past.

“I was so focused on keeping her safe,” He began as he looked towards the shoreline. Rey was standing in the water, jumping over the small waves as they ebbed into the shore. She had a smile on her face as she relished in the juvenile form of entertainment. “I didn’t think about the sort of life she would live, as long as it wasn’t consumed by the Dark Side I was satisfied.”

“And so you hid her, and then you hid from her.” Ahsoka said as she looked at the young woman down at the shore.

“I didn’t mean to hide from Rey,” Luke tried to correct her.

“I meant your wife.” She looked at her, her large round eyes blinking in judgment. He shook his head. He hadn’t meant to hide from Amara, he just had. It had become a byproduct of the entire operation. “In all these years that you have to have known who and what she is and you never tried to stop her.”

His head shook in frustration. He wanted to, more than anything, but she had so much power an army behind her and she had already crushed him in more than one way. “I can’t”

Ahsoka hung her head in shame. “That’s not the Jedi way.” She breathed.

He shrugged, the voice of Yoda echoing in his ears. “Maybe I’m not a Jedi either”

“There are no Jedi left.” He looked at her surprised, ready to convince her that she was wrong but she continued on. “The last true Jedi died with Yoda. And he lived long enough to see them rise and fall more than any of us. There will never be another who is trained in the Temples of old, who upholds the code perfectly. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” She paused letting the sentiment of her words echo deeply before she continued “I wasn’t the only one who disagreed with the Jedi Code, your father certainly did, but I was one of the few who walked away. It was a flawed way, but not many were willing to speak up about it. There will always be those who wield lightsabers, who for lack of a better term… are simply called Jedi.”

Luke gave a small nod as he looked at Rey, the sun was beginning to set and she was cast about in a ruddy light.

“She knows that her daughter is alive now doesn’t she?” Ahsoka asked, Luke nodded in reply. “How, how did she know that it was Rey?”

“I don’t know.” He breathed, there hadn’t been enough time for Rey to even begin to tell him what had happen in the temple.

“Rey.” When Ahsoka called out her name the woman’s head snapped up and she came running up towards them, her damp feet now covered with dirt as she looked at her with a smile. “How did she know it was you?” She asked her with a squinted glance.

Rey blinked “My mother.” She said looking for a nod of confirmation.

“Yes.” Ahsoka replied. “In the temple how did she know it was you? To my understanding she very much believed that you were dead?”

Rey reached down to her hip and unclaimed the silver hilt of her lightsaber placing it in her hands before the other woman. “Because of the crystal inside.”

Luke looked at her stubbornly “But you found your crystal?”

She shook her head, placing the lightsaber down on the ground before them. She raised her hands making it rise up in the air, then she pulled the weapon apart as the individual chambers and mechanics hung in midair. A live dissection of its internal anatomy before them all.

Luke and Ahsoka bent forward looking at the two crystals which were hanging in midair.

“You have two crystals.” Ahsoka breathed excitedly as she reached her hand out to touch them both gently.

Luke frowned “I thought you….” He breathed in amazement.

“I found it on Naboo.” Rey replied “The second crystal, it was Obi Wan’s.” He looked at her his mouth wide opened.

“And the other one?” Ahsoka asked even though she could already guess the answer.

“Your fathers.” She said curtly as she clasped her hands together placing the weapon back together. “It’s how she found me.”

He felt himself sinking even more inside of his hard exterior shell. “She always wanted her father’s lightsaber, she used to think I was hiding it from her, but I never knew what happened to it.” He reached out attempting to touch her but she back away. “Rey?”

She shook her head as she looked at him. “You should have known.” She said softly as she looked at Luke. “You should have known” She repeated.

“What should he have known Rey?” Ahsoka asked for him.

She shrugged, a tear forming in her eye. “That’s the point.” She said weeping as she turned and headed back to the cottage behind them.

Luke rose to his feet with the intention of running after her, but the elder woman took his arm. “She’s not going to tell you anything unless you give her time.” She said softly. “Now come, I see it in your eyes ask me what you want to know.”

Luke sat back down, looking at her knowing that the questions he had always had about his parents could be answered, but as Ahsoka began to talk with a fondness in her eyes he knew they weren’t the words he wanted to hear in that moment.  

**

He was grateful for the anonymity that the mask afforded him. Not that it made him unrecognizable, quite the opposite, but rather that it allowed him to easily conceal his frantic emotions as he reached the computer terminal.

Computing had never been a skill that he was rather good at, but he knew how to transfer files to the data drive. His hands were still shaking as he typed in the information watching as the records of the feeds were listed before him. He didn’t know if it would be helpful, he prayed that someone or some droid with more knowledge would be able to extract what the Resistance needed from the messages marked as Snoke.

Committing the espionage didn’t fell particularly heroic. If anything it was nerve wracking, his hands hovering over the keys as he listened with all his will to the many officers around him going about their daily tasks. They were setting navigation courses, monitoring systems, at least all looking as if they were engrossed in the monitors and banks before them.

There was a beep and he breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled the drive out of the terminal, holding it in his gloved hands as if it was a precious egg, wondering where to store it safely. He moved his head slight from side to side, knowing that even though it seemed as if they were all ignoring him, all eyes in the room were on him.

“Sir.” He spun around to breath in the face of General Hux. “The Grand Moff is requesting that we move five TIE squadrons into this quadrant in case of any Rebel activity.” He was still calling the Resistance rebels, when in reality they were the ones who were rebelling against the New Republic. “Those squadrons were placed to ensure that-”

“Move the squadrons.” He replied cutting them off.

Hux squinted at him, his shoulders shaking as he prepared to spit out a response. From behind his mask he looked down at the pinched face man wondering if he had always hated listing to his rants or if there was ever a time in which he had relished commanding him. He was still wearing the heavy suit and the dark mask and yet he was already beginning to let go of the man who had been inside of them for so long.

“If Supreme Leader Snoke-”

“Move them.” He replied more forcefully. The small man would never be able to grasp the concept that the woman giving him the commands was in fact the Supreme Leader whose every word he clung to.

Hux remained frozen in place, blinking in anticipation. He was waiting for an outburst. The erratic behavior of Kylo Ren had become an expectation.

He drew his lightsaber extending the three blades and looking down at the cracking and sparking blade. Somehow to hold it his hand now filled him with more hatred than ever before. He turned and slashed at the computer terminal, at least destroying the evidence of what he had done. But he wanted to do more, with every hit with every signal of destruction he wanted to cause more. With one hand he hacked away at the terminal while his other clutched onto the data drive. He wanted to do more than destroy one small part of one Star Destroyer, he wanted to break it all down. He prayed the answer was already in his hands.  

**

Rey walked through the house, hearing the distant sounds of children laughing. When she looked outside of the windows she saw water, blue and crisp beyond compare, the smell of flowers wafting in from the garden. She took another step down the hallway, passing by another window, it’s curtains blowing across the path. She turned her head and looked out to see a sandy desert, the sand coming in through the window and pooling around her feet.

She took a step back, looking at the window behind her that she had just passed. She saw the ocean once again, and the flowers. Rey furrowed her brow in confusion as she continued down the hallways, stepping over the growing pile of sand as she stepped into the bedroom.

Jessika was sitting cross legged on the large bed, her hair pulled away from her face in a series of braids as she sat surrounded by small piles of laundry. She was carefully folding the shirts and placing them in another pile. She looked up at Rey and smiled widely as the children continued to laugh from somewhere within the house.

“Don’t we have a droid to do that?” Rey found herself asking even though those weren’t the words she wanted to come out of her mouth.

Jessika continued to fold the clothes, “Isn’t this what you wanted?” Jessika asked her. But her voice was different, gruffer and uneven.

“What?” Rey breathed as she turned her head around but no matter where she looked she still saw Jessika sitting on the bed.

“When the war is over, isn’t this what you want?” Jessika asked again, her voice trying to be sweet but it came out all distorted.

“This is a dream.” Rey said aloud as she realized it. But as much as she wanted to pull herself awake she couldn’t seem to do it.

Jessika smiled to herself as she continued to fold garment after garment. “Isn’t this the dream of what you want?”

Rey paused looking at her. The more closely she looked at the other woman the less it seemed like Jessika. Her features were wrong, at least Rey though they were. She had only know her for… it felt like years but in reality it was weeks. She turned looking back at the pale narrow face, was that what she really looked like?

She shook her head, she wanted to be in control. She wanted to choose where she was going in the world, what she did with the rest of her life. That was what she wanted most of all. Rey took a step back, finding herself leaving the bedroom and stepping back into the hallway.

The children were laughing even louder, the sound grating against her ears. We’re they supposed to be her children? She didn’t even know if she wanted to have children one day. She looked at the cloth blowing across the walkway and the sand that littered the paved floor.

Rey turned her head and looked out of the window at the desert scene. It didn’t look like Jakku, there were mountains in the very distance as the outline of an unfamiliar city. She turned her head, glancing back at the doorway through which Jessika was and the she looked out of the window at the desert and stepping through with determination.

She was standing on a tall ridge, overlooking a valley and a sprawling city below. The desert wind blew all around her face the sand kicking up into her eyes and yet it did not burn her. She wasn’t alone on the ridge there were other figures but they were blurry.

“You keep looking back.” The voice spoke in her ear. She turned on the spot looking for the source. “You want to change the past that is already written rather than look towards the future.” It was a woman’s voice, kind and soft but she couldn’t place it. “Don’t look back.” It added.

Rey spun around on the spot once more, almost convinced that she could see the woman who was speaking to her before she jerked awake.

She looked up at the face of Ahsoka who was looking at her kindly. “The Force can really mess up dreams” She said as she helped Rey sit up. It was dark outside of the heavily curtained window. Rey looked around, silently searching. “Luke went back to your ship for a moment.” Rey said nothing in acknowledgement. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Her eyes widened as she wondered to what she could be referring too. “About what?”

“Your dream.” The other woman said in a soft voice, choosing the lighter matter at hand first.

Rey shrugged. “It was just a silly dream.” Ahsoka inhaled, knowing that wasn’t necessarily the truth, but she said nothing to correct the other woman. “I’m sure you have something else you’d rather talk about, some story to tell Luke about the way things were in the old days.”

The elder woman looked down at her hands. There were a lot of stories she could tell, ones that would frightening and inspire her about the life Rey could possibly lead if she followed the path of the Jedi. But she knew that wasn’t want she needed to lecture the young woman about. The time had come for her to be the teacher, and sometimes the lessons weren’t easy.

"My Aunt, my mother, my cousin." Ahsoka began as she looked at her. "All words that I have heard you say a dozen times, but you always call him Luke, never my Father."

Rey looked out the darkened window, wishing that like in her dream it would open up and be a portal to a different world. She huffed drawing her legs up closer to herself. It was a surprisingly chilly planet when the sun went down. “Do you think that it is something which is easy to comprehend?” She said in a small voice.

Ahsoka shook her head, her lekku moving slightly from side to side. “But I don’t see what good ignoring him is going to do?”

“I thought Jedi weren’t supposed to have feelings?” Rey shot back.

She inhaled sharply not wanting to correct her about the fact that she was not a Jedi. “It’s not about having feelings; your hatred of Luke right now is in fact a feeling. It’s about knowing when those emotions are getting in the way.”

“I’m not letting them get in my way.” Rey said as she stood up and move swiftly to her feet. “How else am I supposed to want to save the universe if I don’t care about it.” She stated as she left the room, heading out into the darkness of night.

**

Jessika knew that she would be interrogated but she hadn’t expected the questions to be so boring. “Where is the rebel base located? What were you doing on Dantooine? How much does the Rebellion know about the First Order?” She didn’t even have someone important interrogating her. She had been given the b-team of unmarked officers. They weren’t even torturing her.

Jessika knew that she wasn’t the main attraction she wasn’t as flashy of a captive as Leia was. She didn’t have anything to consequences to say. The interrogator left, the door shutting behind her. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering to herself how much more she had to endure this endless boredom. She had assumed being a captive would have been more captivating.

The door opened against and she heard the strained breathing through the black mask. Jessika opened her eyes about to make a witty remark before she felt arms pulling her up. Her feet were dangling in the air as the Stormtroopers carried her between then. She looked wildly to the man in the mask and the woman in white next to him. They were carrying her down the corridors rapidly shoving her into a dark room where the troopers were strapping her to a board. The door closed behind her leaving just Amara and Kylo Ren in the room alone with her.

“I fail to see why Kylo Ren has taken you prisoner.” Amara said in a soft tone dripping with subtle madness. “You seem to be of no use providing information. But…” She paused, removing a pristine white glove to reveal a slender hand, she placed a finger on Jessika’s forehead. “There are other means.”

Jessika felt a sudden compression in her head, as if it was being pushed in on all sides while her brain struggled to expand outward. The pressure was pain enough but it was nothing compared to the images which began to run through her mind.

Memories which she tried to suppress were only borough up in brighter colors as the flashed before her. Her childhood flicking by like a footnote, but some moments lasted longer. Her missions with the Resistance, flying over Star Killer base and then…. Rey.

The first time she had seen Rey. Running across the base chasing after and unconscious Finn, Jess had stopped in her tracks her breath catching in her throat even then. They were kissing in the shuttle for the first time, desperate with their motions, they were half naked and naïve on Dantooine, Rey was naked standing in the pool of water.

The memories stopped but the pain remained. “You loved her?” Amara said curiously.

Jess nodded, not wanting to let her emotions betray her. Amara had to believe that her daughter was dead, yet again. “Yes I did.” She muttered, feeling tears stream down her cheeks even though she didn’t want to cry, the action was involuntary at this point. “But he…. He killed her.” She said with such ferocity Jessika almost believed it herself.

“Then why should I keep you alive.” Amara shrugged.

Her jaw quivered as she looked into the dark eyes. “I know where Luke Skywalker is.”

Amara’s eyes light up her anxiousness betraying her. “Where?” She said eagerly.

Jessika giggled. “Alderaan.” A smile formed on the edges of Amara’s lips for a moment as if she too enjoyed the inopportune humor.

Then Jessika screamed as she wielded her lightsaber extending the red blade and placing it as the base of her neck, so close she could feel the heat radiating off the solid blade. “I could take off your head, leaving you dead.” She moved the blade down to her shoulder. “Or I take off your arm. It’ll hurt but you’ll live, same for any other limb. Or….” She retracted the blade and placed the hilt of the weapon up against Jessika’s stomach, pressing in deeply. “Your move, life or death.” She twisted the hilt of her lightsaber in deeper “Where is Luke Skywalker.”

Jessika was shaking with fear, her hands quivering as she looked into down at her own belly and the weapon which was threatening to take her life in an instant. She was rattling against the board she was tied to, as her mind was struggling to find an answer. Her eyes slipped down to her hands, they were shaking rapidly even when she tried to calm them she could not.

Suddenly she saw the restraints against her wrist fly open. Her mind was wiped blank for just an instant like a wave purifying the sand on a beach as her head snapped back and her eyes rolled in her head.

“Courscant.” The words slipped out of Jessika’s mouth, but she was unsure where they had come from in the first place.

Amara stepped back, placing her lightsaber on her hip as she looked at Jessika satisfied. “Do with her want you want. I’m setting a course for Courscant.” She said to the other man in the room as she swept out of the room, leaving them alone.

Jessika looked down at her free hands, realizing it had been the silent bystander who had freed her with his mind. But why? She wouldn’t have been able to run or fight, not with a lightsaber a fingertip away from killing her placed on her stomach.

She bent down and undid the ties on her legs, her hands shaking all the while with unstoppable adrenaline. She slowly stepped forward towards the mass of black before her. “Ben.” She whispered afraid of being overheard but he didn’t respond.

She could hear sounds coming from behind his mask, small little croaking which repeated over and over again. Jessika stumbled towards him reached up and lifting the mask off of his head with great effort and looking into his watery eyes.

Jessika did her best to try and keep from laughing as she looked at the crying man before her. Her head titled from side to side to make sure that the doors were sealed before she raised her hand up and placed them on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

“It’s….” She began but she was at a total loss of words for this type of situation.

“Anything.” The words escapees him as a guttural primordial sound. He made eyes contact with her but he didn’t seen Jessika. In his mind he saw someone else, and he couldn’t stop seeing it over and over again the surprise in his father’s eyes and then the acceptance of death.

“What?” Jessika asked him.

“Anything.” He repeated as he kept seeing it over and over again. He handed his father his lightsaber and then he ignited it. He saw it a hundred times in his mind’s eye and every time he wanted the scene to change. He fell to his knees wanting to tare this trap of a uniform off, wanting someone to hurt him back to see vengeance against what he did.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” Jessika whispered as she sat on the ground next to him in solidarity.

He looked at her. He had told her not to look back, he needed to do the same, but it was impossible he couldn’t get the image out of his head. His father dying. Him killing his father. “Ben?” She asked again “Why did you break me free? Why did you make me say Coruscant? What are you trying to tell me?”

His hands were shaking as he saw his father, the shock in his eyes the blade of the lightsaber illuminating his backside as it ran through him. He saw Jessika about to await the same fate. Her hands reached down, clutching onto his, squeezing them. She was there, she was more perceptive than most, she caught on to what was happening. But she hadn’t been there. She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes only Rey and Finn had.

“It was….” He paused, and she nodded as if she would be willing to wait a year for him to finish his sentence. “My father’s last words ’yes, anything’ that was what he said before I killed him.” He looked up at her face, it was unchanged. “I killed him.” He repeated the words sinking in. “I killed my father.” He looked at Jessika wanting her to scream at him, to be mad at him for want he did. But she never knew the man. “All he ever did was love me. Even now…. even when I was this…. and I killed him.” He shouted.

“Keep your voice down.” Jessika’s voice was high pitched as she looked around. “You can’t change it. You can’t. So make it mean something. Don’t let him die in vain. Help us destroy this Empire once and for all.”

“I killed my father.” He echoed.

She looked at the man before her. She knew both of his parents, she would even say that she knew them well. They were kind people, people who had spent much of the past thirty years dedicating their lives to helping others and taking young men and women of all species under their own wings. Jessika herself had been one of the young pilots who Han Solo had taken under his wing. Knowing the kind of people his parents were, she had to wonder how on earth it was possible for the man before her to have turned out in such a way. How could both Han and Leia who guided so many others through their young adulthood lose their way with their own son.

But the thoughts that were running through her own mind were not what the man before her need to hear.  “You’re not the first man to kill your father and you won’t be the last.” She said in as gentle of a voice as possible her eyes unable to stop looking at the armor which he was wearing. “That was Kylo Ren, that was the man you had to pretend to be.”

“I wasn’t always pretending.” He said through another sob. “I lost myself.”

“Then find yourself.” She whispered encouragingly. “Who do you choose to be Kylo Ren or Ben Solo?”

He looked up at her, his breath steadying. “Ben Solo.”

She nodded. “Okay. Hello Ben Solo, I’m Jessika Pava pilot for the Resistance.” He laughed for a moment as she smiled at him. “You’re not the first person to be haunted by what you have done in your past. And there are a lot of way you start to make up for that action, starting with today.” She paused reading his face and seeing if he was ready for a more serious line of questioning. “Did you make me say Courscant?” He nodded. “Why?” She added

“I don’t know.” He answered truthfully “I saw something; I think we’re meant to go there?”

“How are Luke and Rey supposed to know to go there?” He looked lost for a moment, “If we show up at they’re not there she really will kill me.”

“I can…. I can tell them.” He stammered like a child suddenly coming to a brilliant realization.

“How?”

“The Force.”

“The Force?” She repeated. “We’ll all right then.” She shrugged.

“You trust me?”

“You just saved my life.” She paused, he didn’t think it was a good enough of a reason. “Ben I trust you.”

He looked up at her, his body slowly beginning to stop shaking as he saw her eyes looking at him with honesty. It felt strange to him, opening up to a person and then having that person trust you. Feeling and emotions had been something which he had struggled to keep under control for years and yet Jessika had just seen him break down completely and yet she wasn’t afraid of him at all.

“What do we do now?” He whispered.

She frowned knowing that he was really asking her if he could drop the illusion and stage a coup. “We have to keep pretending. Just for a little while longer.” She paused looking for the shackles which had been left at the side of the room. “You probably should bust me up a little bit… for looks.” She stopped seeing him blanch even more. “Ben. You could get some _really_ valuable information for us while we are here.”

He nodded as he helped her up off of the floor. She gave him another halfhearted smile, hesitating on the balls of her feet before she reached up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “You can do this…. I believe you can.”

**

Rey didn’t seem to mind the uphill climb now. She focused on extruding her energy with every strained step she took up the wooded hills. Feeling her muscles at work as she made her way towards the sounds and lights of the village.

She was smarter than to try and engage the Ewoks. She didn’t want to deal with their furry positive energy anyways. She was annoyed with everything, jaded and over every planet which she had been to in recent weeks. They had all be repeats as she followed in the footsteps of those before her. All it had granted her was a missing hand.

It caught the light from time to time, she would shudder as she looked down at it, or as the cold metal ran against her skin as she brushed her hair back. She was proud of the fact that she had managed to make a replacement for herself but she was desiring a prosthetic which made is seem as if she had never lost a hand to being with.

The ferns were rising up around her beneath the dark sky as she came into a small clearing. It was far enough removed from the lake, she felt as if she had run a reasonable amount away as she sat down on a mossy rock looking up at the budding stars. She had never wanted to run away, not truly until she left Jakku. Not that she always missed that solitary life, or the hot days spent ripping apart aged circuity.

She let her left hand fall down into the ashy dirty, letting the gritty particles rub over her fingertips with a warm familiarity.

“ _Rey_ ” Her head snapped around as she heard the voice clearly speaking to her.

“Luke what the…” She hissed angrily as she stood it she was all alone as it called out again.

“ _Rey_.” She looked up at the horizon above her and the faint outlines of the planet of Endor. It called out again, and she listening closely trying to place the voice. “ _Rey_?”

“Ben?” She called out, certain it was him but not knowing how he was managing to call out to her.

“ _Rey you have to go to Coruscant_.” His voice was a frantic whisper, terrified to be overhead “ _The Jedi temple, we’ll met you there.”_

She stood up half expecting to see him, in some form or another in the clearing but around here there was only the darkness of pine trees and the distant sounds of birds crying in the night. “Is this a trap?” She said to the night her breaking voice echoing back off the trees.

“ _No_.” Came the steady response inside her head. “ _This is the chance to change everything, this is the day to win.”_

She nodded, even though no one could see her before she set off running through the forests, relief and anxiety running through her veins.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

“We have to go don’t we?” Poe said as he looked down at his hands resting on the holo-chess table.

Finn gave a small laugh. “Have I lived to see the day that Poe Dameron wants to ignore his duties?”

Poe looked up at him sharply rolling his eyes. He was just starting to get used to the idea of this, of the two of them alone as they traveled across the galaxy. The war not always being forefront in their minds. It had only been a few days of realative peace but in comparison to the adventure they had before, it had felt like a lifetime.

“I’m not ignoring it.” Poe said as he shook his head. “I’m just saying it feels like a bad idea.” He paused using a charming smile to cover up his thoughts. “Ever since the moment I met you we have been running, don’t you want to know what the world looks like when we’re standing still?”

Finn nodded but he hesitated. They were their friends; the people they had promised to look after. They couldn’t just steal the Millennium Falcon and run away for good.

“You know with all that brainwashing they used to tell us we were being heroes… Even here in the Resistance you see that idolization. People like Jessika, what they want to achieve with their service…What they don’t mention is that being a solider and being a hero means doing things that are very, very hard. Things that might even be wrong. But you do them knowing it’s not about you, it’s about protecting the freedoms that other people have. And maybe if we’re lucky one day we will get to have those freedoms ourselves.”

“What if…” Poe paused his witty exterior cracking as he was unable to finish his sentence. There was a very real possibility that neither of them would live to see the end of the war. He had heard the stories; he had watched his father reminisce over the years with a dark look in his eyes about the friends he had lost in the war.

“Then somebody else will.” Finn replied stiffly. “Jess, Rey, someone else will and they’ll remember what we did.” He sat down next to Poe at the bench feeling the other man rest his head on his shoulder.

They both needed to stop worrying about the future and learn to relish in the moment. They knew that to be true and yet coming to live that way was something neither of them wanted to do. They were young and greedy and they wanted a hundred more years to run and jump across every obstacle in the galaxy. They didn’t know how to slow down, even when they were injured or battered they still pushed through the pain.

“I love you.” Poe breathed as he felt Finn move. “I don’t want to become like my father.”

Finn didn’t say anything. He had seen the house which had become a shrine to a woman who had died not even in war, but of an illness. The elder Dameron had managed to go on with his life, but he still clutched onto the memory of his late wife with every breath he took.

“If I die first….” Poe whispered, his voice echoing off the walls of the space ship. “You have to find someone else…. That’s an order, solider.”

Finn laughed but it was more a defense mechanism than anything else. “Same goes for you captain.” He replied.

Poe lifted his head up and raised his hands so that he could take Finns face in his own. He kissed him deeply digging his fingers into the back of his scalp, hanging onto him as if it was the last things he was ever going to do in his life. He felt his body tingle and then go numb, and when he pulled away he looked into the pair of dark eyes knowing that there were really no words eloquent enough to describe their emotions.

“I love you too.” Finn replied with a curt nod.

Poe nodded his head in reply. “We need to go to Coruscant.” He replied dutifully even though the idea of doing so stung him deeply.

“And we should get a bit of the fleet on our side.” Finn agreed

**

Leia had felt the ship slow out of hyperspace. She knew they had arrived but no one had told her what unfortunate planet they were now hanging over. No one had in fact come by and stopped in her cell for several hours now. The lack of attention towards her did not comfort her, it made her only wonder if their feeble plan had fallen through.

The door opened and closed but she kept her gaze down on her eyes as she heard him removing the mask. “We’re over the atmosphere of Coruscant.” Her son said in a hurried voice.

Her head snapped up as she looked at him confused. “Coruscant?” She echoed. It had always been a planet of great importance and value but she didn’t see the reason. “Why?” She asked him.

“She’s looking for Luke.” He replied as he reached down into the folds of his dark outfit to get the data drive which he had smuggled information on and pass it to her.

“Luke’s not on Coruscant.” She shook her head as she stowed the small drive away on her own person.

“No, but he will be.” He said with a proud expression on his face.

“How?”

A smile dawned on his face. “I told Rey to bring him here.” She felt her eyebrows raise in disbelief unable to think of something to say to him in reply. He reached into the depths of his cloaks once more and pulled out the lightsaber which he had used as a child. He handed it to her. “She’s not going to check you now, there is no way you could have gotten it.”

She took it in her hands once more, tied of them passing the weapon between them both. “Ben.” She said softly as she looked at her son. “I know you can do this.”

A determination washed over him as he nodded curtly and placed his helmet back on. “Let’s go.” He said, his voice distorted as Leia rose to her feet and he escorted her out of the cell.

Many of the people still alive on Coruscant had been alive long enough to see Star Destroyers handing above its atmosphere. The planet had been the shining jewel of the Empire, the personification of what their goals were.

At least it had appeared to be from the holo vids which they had sent out to the rest of the worlds.

The lower decks had never been fully tamed, certain sectors had remained as lawless as the outer reaches and it was only a select few who had ever truly enjoyed the luxuries which the Empire promised to all. But when the triangular destroyer lowered itself into the atmosphere once more, there was a subtle fear in even the most confident of hearts. It was either an invasion or another battle of Coruscant was about to begin.

The TIE Fighters scattered from the Star Destroyer like spiders leaping out of a nest infecting the airways of traffic. They zoomed though the air, their high pitched whines bouncing off of the steel and glass buildings as the citizens of the city rushed to see the commotion behind the safety of windows. The ships weren’t shooting, not yet, there was a moment of awe as if the world as looking at a dream before the panic set in.

Humans, droids, creatures and species of all varieties began to run and hide in terror, unaware of what was happening. Local military and police were springing into action but the Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters just kept coming, turning the blue sky black. Curious heads noticed the pattern as the First Order began to converge, like water running into a drain towards the pointed spires of the building which had long been abandoned.

It had been the Temple of the Jedi. No matter how many generations had passed since the massacre of the order the citizens of Coruscant still knew that it had never been a myth. But regardless of how the order of peacekeepers had been viewed in their final years, the sight of the mass of ships drawing near the building now only brought fear.

Then there a sharp sound as a blast of red light flew through the air, impacting of the TIE Fighters right before it exploded.

The lone B-wing swooped thorough the narrow spaces between the buildings as it turned around and began it attack run on the black ships. It lined up three TIE’s in its sight, for a moment looking as if it was greatly outnumbered. The TIE’s rose higher up into the atmosphere, perhaps looking to minimalize civilian casualties but more likely to have maneuverability. They crested above a high building with a gleaming golden spire and stopped as they saw the full power of the Resistance fleet awaiting them.

**

She was in shackles again, Jessika looked down at her hands not knowing why she had been placed in the shuttle down to the surface of the planet, but she had been. Was she supposed to be a prisoner, would this be a hostage trade off? Jessika looked at the white troopers, even close up their armor was flawless and clean. For the time begin at least, soon it would be covered in dust and soot. The sliver trooper was holding onto her arm pulling on her tightly as the shuttle bounced as it broke into atmosphere. Jessika was scanning with her eyes, noticing who had weapons and who did not.

Ahead towards the opening on the long and narrow shuttle, past the squadron of troopers was Leia, Ben and Rey’s mother. They all stood at the opening on the door, Leia between them looking so small as she didn’t even come up to their shoulders.

“Ma’am.” Came the voice of Phasma over the rumbling of the ship and the clattering of armor. “There are several Resistance ships making an attempt to approach the site.”

“Let them.” Came the cool crisp voice of Amara Skywalker, the real voice of Snoke. Her voice sounded so much like Rey’s it was grating. The ship lowered down and made contact with a soft floor, the door opened and the sun burst of light almost blinded her as the Stormtroopers fanned out first. There were many steps leading up to the great doors of the old temple. Jessika had only seen one other Jedi temple in her life and unlike the one of Dantooine which had fallen to ruin this once still seemed to be gleaming as if it was proudly being used.

Leia was pushed out first, she began to walk up the steps of her own accord. Looking up at the Grand building which she had never been brave enough to enter. She could feel the Force, perhaps more than she wanted to admit to herself but she had ever felt called to take up a lightsaber and train as a Jedi. But as she walked up the steps, closer and closer to temple which seemed to radiate power she knew that there was something greater at play. Something over all of them which had a greater pull on their lives than their own personal agendas.

Amara followed her, no longer wearing her white imperial uniform but rather the same quasi Jedi robes which she had been wearing when Jess first saw her. There was a steely determination on her face as she marched up the steps, not seeing the hanging head of her apprentice as he trailed behind her.

Jessika was pushed up the stairs by Phasma who was twisting her head from side to side both tactically and out of curiosity.  "How come the Empire left it?" Phasma asked though her mask as they walked up the steps of the temple, coming to a stop before the pillaged entryway. "Didn't it remind people of the hope they once had? Surely destroying it would have been a great sign of victory."

Amara shook her head. “Lord Vader and the Emperor insisted that it remain, that all the Jedi temples remain touched only by time. The Emperor himself used it as the Imperial Palace” She said as she looked up at it, almost awed herself. She had been raised on tales by her master of what the halls had once been. Darth Vader was not a Jedi, but he still had a monocle of deep respect for the system which he had destroyed. She had always seen it as a weakness, as a reminder of Anakin Skywalker that still remained within him. “The Resistance ships,” She said as she turned to look at Phasma, “Make sure they cannot leave.”

The chrome head bobbed. “By your command.” She said as she released Jessika over to the dark masked man and walked away the few beams of light which fell down from the ship covered skies retracting off her armor as she faded in the distance.

Amara said nothing as she turned to the doorway of the temple. She pushed it opened and the four people stepped inside of the dark dusty hall. She turned to give a command, determination written across her face. Her thin mouth opened but no words escaped as she fell to the ground. Leia and her son fell as well, like droids suddenly powered off. Jessika remained standing in the entryway. She looked at the hall filled with both symbols of the old Empire and the graffiti of the Jedi firebirds and red starbirds of the Rebellion as if the city had tried to take the temple back for the hands of good.

She didn’t know why she was still standing, she had no time to be concerned for anyone other than herself or Rey as she reached down took a blaster off of Amara and turned towards the exit. Her heart was beating with uncertainty as she stepped out into the ash and smoke that was beginning to fill planet. She looked left and right, making up her mind. Jessika Pava ran.

**

As they jumped out of hyperspace and lowered into the atmosphere they were bombarded with messages on every channel to get out of the airspace. “The fight has already begun.” Ahsoka said sadly as Luke scrambled with the controls trying to find the Resistance channel.

Rey pushed him aside wordlessly, shaking her head as she tapped at the panels finding the channel within minutes and getting the rudimentary information to know that the First Order was swarming the planet with almost every ship and weapon in their army while the Resistance was trying to make a hole in their grip over a small sector of the planet. They lowered down into the atmosphere seeing the TIE Fighters swooping in and out of the jagged skyline being following by lettered Resistance Starfighters of all kind.

Ahsoka looked at the city, it was almost as if it had never changed. The buildings still gleamed in the sunlight, the smoke from factories rose up in the distance, the deep levels of the city were still dark and filled with all the variety in the galaxy. The only thing difference was how the sky was cleared of its continually bussing traffic in place of the great dog fight in front of them.

“We don’t have any weapon on this ship.” Luke muttered as they approached the dark mass of fighting.

“Let me fly.” Rey said as she pushed him out of the chair. She inevitably began to fly the ship low and quickly towards the heart of darkness.

“How do we get in?” Luke breathed.

A small smile fell across Ahsoka’s old face. “There are back entrances.” She said gently as she began to tell Rey where to fly.

They swooped around, taking the long way through narrow and dark passageways. For a moment there was a great break of light, as they flew behind the brunt of the flying and lowered down near the back side of the temple.

The ship stopped but it’s occupants didn’t as they made their way towards the door of the ship, making sure they each had weapons of several kinds. Rey threw her long staff over her shoulder as she checked the charge pack on her blaster. “Have you been inside before?” Ahsoka asked Luke as he handed her a blaster. He shook his head “Then stay close to me.” She said as the door opened with a whoosh and they stepped out.

There was yelling over the sounds of gunfire. Stormtroopers were attempting to barricade around the base of the temple, yet a large number of Resistance ground fighters were fighting them off. Still the trio ran towards the darkened temple entrance with their blasters drawn. There were swooping cheers of excitement and encouragement as the foot solders saw them run by, a squadron led by a young Twi’lek even ran to surround them and provide them cover surrounding them in a protective bubble as they made their way to the bronze door at the base of the temple.

Rey could feel her heart pounding in her chest with each step that she took. But as she felt herself pushing her own self to her physical limits she felt something else as well. A strange pull on her, as if something was making her curious about her surroundings. It was the Force there was no question in her mind.

They stopped at the door. Ahsoka fiddled with it for a moment, trying to get it open as Luke pulled out his lightsaber to deflect the incoming blaster fire away from them. “Come on.” He yelled. Rey stepped forward in an attempt to help her, but the older woman shook her head, pulling out her own white bladed lightsaber and simply running it through the door, creating a hole large enough for them to use.

The moment they stepped inside the cavernous hall the sounds of the fighting stopped as a calm sense washed over all of them. “Rey you’re going to have to hide.” Luke said rapidly.

Rey opened her mouth to respond to him but suddenly there was no voice to come out as she felt the strong sensation wrap around her as she fell to the floor.

“Rey.” Luke and Ahsoka both called out as they looked at her serenely lying body they both stepped forward hands outstretched but they both collapsed before they could make it to her.

**

“Kriff.” Poe muttered as he winced.

“That was close.” Finn yelled in his ear through the comms.

“Too close.” He grunted as he pulled up, finding only moment refuge in the clearer skies in the higher levels of Coruscant. If he was someone else navigating the Millennium Falcon through the sky ways of Coruscant in battle would be no problem. But even he had to admit that it was a feet of flying that was too hard for him. He punched a button on the dash as he looked at the scanners trying to determine what to do next.

“This is Dameron, I need a different ship.”

The female voice that came back was small. Clearly the young girl was managing the communication channels during her first battle. “Ok, what is wrong with your ship.”

Poe cursed under his breath as he heard Finn give out any other excited cry from the gunner station as he took out another TIE fighter. “I can’t navigate this krifing thing through Coruscant.” He replied sharply.

There was the sound of sharp breathing as he twisted the ship on its side once again so he could slip in between two buildings. “You can fly up to one of the carriers-”

“That’s not going to work.” He hissed back at her annoyed.

There was a long pause and he could tell that she was thinking.  “You could swap with one of the ground teams ships?”

“Perfect he breathed, give me the coordinates.” He waited as they came through on the computer. He inhaled sharply as he saw the location but there was no other option. He shut off the channel and focused on the city scape below him. “Hold on tight, this is going to be a bumpy ride.” He said as he dove down towards the lower levels of the city.

Finn swirled in the chair of the gunner bay his eyes scanning all around him as he continued to fire rapidly as they descended past the main level of fighting. There were still citizens and local police forces mixed together trying to find their way up streaming the fighting as the Millennium Falcon dove down to join them.

The vehicles scattered at the sight of the ship which narrowly made its way through the passageways. Both wanting to physically get out of its way as well as avoiding the firepower which was following it. Finn continued to easily blast the TIE Fighters out of the sky as they raced towards the swirling epicenter of First Order ships.

“Don’t worry about the ones behind us.” Poe yelled as he threw up the shields to maximum power and turned the remaining power to thrusters. “I need you to make a hole.”

Finn turned to see what was ahead of them. “Ok.” He breathed wearily. “I can do that.” But he almost didn’t believe himself as he began to fire continuously, never pausing.

“I know you can.” Poe replied as the ship began to accelerate towards the Jedi Temple and the First Order. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the wall of ships before him, “I love you.” He added desperately.

Finns fingers were tapping away at the triggers but as soon as they cleared out the ships, new ones took their place. “I love you too.” He breathed as they charged forward towards the valley of darkness.

**

Ahsoka was standing in the council chambers, they looked as untouched and untarnished as they had the last time she had been there. The day she had chosen to walk away from the Jedi Order. But they were empty. It was strange to be in the empty room, it felt wrong. There was no official rule about non-council members being in the room alone, but it was something that was never done.

“Little ‘Soka?”

“Master Plo?” She said in an excited tone as she turned around to see the familiar orange face of the Kel Dorian. A wide smile dawned on her face as she saw him, for a moment believing the illusion before her. “This isn’t real.” She said with a disappointed sigh. “This is just a trick, a trap for those who enter.”

She opened her eyes, looking up at the dusty ceiling, feeling her old body throbbing with dull pain. She pulled herself up, looking at the darkened and abandoned hallway remembering what it had once been before the Empire had changed it all. All that was in the past now she remembered with sharp clarity as she looked to her two companions who were lying on the floor, motionless and peaceful.

She crawled over to one and attempted to begin to wake them.

**

“Ben?”

“No.” He shook his head as he closed his eyes relishing in the darkness once more. It wasn’t real he knew that; he could feel it. Whatever this was, it wasn’t real.

“Ben.” The voice called out calmly once more and he closed his eyes even further.

“No… please no.” He said aloud as he refused to open his eyes. He didn’t know where he was. Well he did, in reality he knew that he had fallen to the floor of the Jedi Temple of Coruscant but he didn’t know where he was in this strange dream like state.

“Ben!” The voice yelled at him this time, and he opened his eyes out of pure anger.

“What?” He snapped at the image of his father. That was all it was, an image meant to trick him. “You’re not real!” He yelled back at Han Solo like the volatile man that he was. That’s all he ever was, volatile and unstable unable to rein in his powers and control.

“We’ll this sure feels real to me.” His father said as he threw his hands up in the air before they came to rest on his hips. “Have I become one of those kriffing Force ghost thingys that Luke was always on about? How the hell is that possible?” He said with a roll of his eyes.

His son let out a little laugh, “I think so.” He muttered looking down at his feet. “Maybe.” He added. Lady Luck may not have always been in his father’s favor but the Force nearly always was. “I think it might just be a trick of the temple.”

He watched as his father shrugged. “You know,” He sighed. “They’re a few scoundrels I wouldn’t mind giving a good haunt to.” Ben let out a laugh. “There’s the kid I know.” His father crossed his arms and looked him up and down “What are you doing still wearing all that black for?”

He looked down at himself, they were standing in a grey room that was still murky and yet familiar but he was indeed wearing the dark black outfit that he dawned as Kylo Ren. “I still have too…”

“You killed me.” Han Solo said sharply “What was it all for if you’re still going to pretend to be him?”

 “But….”

His father shook his head, and it became clear where they were. The Millennium Falcon the ship that had been his home and plaything, the last ship he had flown with his father.

“It nearly took me too long to learn how to be a hero.” His father said half embarrassed by the notion that he ever was a hero, just like how he was a Force ghost now. “Don’t make that mistake Ben.”

He opened his eyes coming out of the dream as seeing the two women beside him. He made his choice quickly as he began removing the mask and throwing it to the side

“Mother.” He whispered as he shook at her. “Mother, wake up.” He added as he looked over his shoulder, worried that someone would come behind them.

But Leia did not respond to her son, she was lost in a world of her own.

**

“Leia?” The voice called out in the darkness, a man’s voice so familiar and warm. She could feel the tears already beginning to form on her face as the world became clearer around her. The green rolling hills and the snowcapped mountains of a planet long lost. “Leia.”

She looked at the face of the man she still considered to be her father. Bail Organa wasn’t exactly smiling at her; it was more a slightly disappointed expression that her father would often wear. “You have to keep going.” He said gently.

She shook her head, unsure if he could even see her. “But we never win, not really.”

“But you’ve come so far, you’re so close.”

“To what?” She pleaded “To loosing everyone and gaining nothing in return?”

“You’re not going to win on your own” He replied hearing the words that she didn’t want to hear. “But you can help those who will.” He was disappearing before her eyes.

“Mother….” The voice was calling to her reminding her of her own child. “Mama.” The image of her father was gone as she awoke in the Jedi Temple looking at the face of her son.

“Ben.” She said as he helped her sit up. From the pale expression on his face he too had seem something strange.

He pulled her to her feet as they both looked around the cavernous room. “We need to find Luke and Rey.” She said as she looked past him at the woman still on the ground. She didn’t matter anymore, what she had once meant to both of them was forgotten as they raced off together into the depths of the temple.

**

Jessika’s feet pounced down upon the stones as she ran with all her might, her legs kicking up behind her as she held onto the blaster with both hands. She wasn’t thinking, instincts had taken over as she ran. She didn’t know where she was going. She knew Rey was likely here somewhere, she knew that the Resistance was fighting, but all she could think of was keeping herself safe for the time being.

There were troopers all around here, she didn’t know if these First Order solders knew if she was supposed to be their prisoner or not but she kept to the shadows avoiding the sound of boots as she looked up at the skies at the battle overhead.

There was more navigating rather than firing, a reasonable modification due to the conditions of the battlefield, but when a ship did go down regardless of its side it fell twisting and in flames down towards the urban levels of the city, no doubt causing more than enough harm to the helpless people bellow.

She held her breath as another group of solders ran past, ignoring the woman with the blaster standing in the shadows. But she knew she couldn’t ignore the battle any more. She darted out from her cover and began to run along, turning the corner as she saw a familiar collection of ships landing down.

“Jess!” Her head snapped around as she heard her name being called out. She looked to see the source as she ran deeper into the collection of small Resistance fighters. “Jess!” It called out once more and she saw the man running towards her.

Finn placed his arms around her quickly. She looked at him great full to see a friend but confused at the same time. “Where….” She didn’t finish the sentence as she looked around seeing the many Resistance Fighters running off to all sides to begin a ground fight. She looked out in the distance seeing the distinct outline of the Millennium Falcon.

He was guiding her towards the ships, there was a modified T-47 two seated Fighters that Poe was loading BB-8 into, and another X-wing ship that he was clearly offering her with a gesture. “How did you escape?” Finn was asking her.

“I… they…” She didn’t know how to describe it, she didn’t know if there were any words to explain what had happened with the others and not her. “I can’t” She said softly as she looked at the X-wing.

“Jess you can take the ship.” Poe replied as he saw her expression, “It will be fine.”

She shook her head, knowing that as much as she wanted the freedom of the skies she felt a duty to those on the ground. “No you go.” She said firmly, finally getting her senses back. “I need to help Rey.”

Poe looked her in the eye, knowing that as much as he wanted her up in the air for her piloting Saks skills he understood her pull to the ground battle. He gave her a sharp nod. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” She said as she ran off once again to find more weapons before heading back into the temple.

Jessika stood, attaching the spare utility belt that one of the ground team captains had handed her. She looked up as she saw Finn and Poe rise up into the battle high above her. She gave them a small wave as she prayed they wouldn’t soon be falling to the ground like so many of the other star ships.

**

When the sunlight hit her hair it shone a bright fire red. But then she turned her head, her whole body spinning to keep up with the purple blade her hair changed colors again. She was fighting against the masked sentinel in practice, but her face was focused deeply and expressive with each swing on her long lightsaber.

Luke walked towards her intrigued as he looked at the lush temple. He didn’t think that the temple on Coruscant would be like this, so filled with life, so vibrant. Wasn’t there a war going on?

Amara stopped as she saw him approach and she crossed her arms as she looked at him with a frown. “There you are?” She chided as she reached out and took him by the hand. “I was going to kill you if you were late.” She said in a sharp voice as she dragged him off of the terrace and back towards the interior of the Temple.

“Late?” Luke asked as he looked at all the Jedi and their various droids passing them as Amara dragged him along. “Late for what?” He stammered as she pushed him into a lift.

The door closed behind them as they rose high within the levels of the temple. She turned to give him a cross look. He looked at her face, still youthful and freckled no different than the last time he had seen her. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know?” She said crossed, her voice getting higher as she rolled her eyes.

The doors opened as the heads of a man and woman turned to look at him. They were older, both with graying hair smiling at him as if they knew him well, but Luke had never seen them before in his life. Amara stepped out of the lift, her Jedi robes billowing out behind her.  He looked past those before him and to his own reflection in the windows beyond. He looked different, his hair not entirely grey yet, no beard skimming his face.

“But I don’t know.” He said in a youthful whine.

Amara opened her mouth and a scoff fell out. “Today is the day Rey finds out if she passed her test?”

“Rey?” He echoed back to her.

“ _Luke_.”  A voice whispered in his ear. “ _Luke, whatever you see. It isn’t real?_ ”

No he knew this wasn’t real he didn’t need some disembodied voice to tell him, there was no way any of this could ever be real. But he looked around, to Amara how was looking at him expectantly to go into the council chamber with her to the elder couple. Luke narrowed his eyes looking at them, looking at man. Where they his parents? Was this some twisted vision of what could have happened if his father had never gone to the Dark Side?

He closed his eyes cleaning his mind, and when he opened them he looked up into the face of Ahsoka. “Luke?” She said but he brushed past her crawling on his knees towards his daughter.

“Rey.” He tapped at her face. “Rey wake up.” But she was unresponsive “Come on, please…. Rey…Rey…. Rey!”

**

She could hear her voice being called out but it was becoming fainter and fainter as she walked along the halls of the temple, as if knowing exactly where she was going. Each step she took was heavy with purpose as she walked along the corridors, the lights of the city and planet so bright outside of the windows.

She was so focused, so intent on what she was doing the doors were opening to the round room. She looked down at the figure of the small child in Jedi robes, knowing that at one point in her life she had once looked like that. The little child was looking up at her with such scared eyes and she was so….so angry.

“Master Skywalker” The little one said “There’s too many of them”, the lightsaber in her hand felt eerily comfortable and familiar. She knew what she was about to do, and she believed it. “What-”

“REY!” The slap fell hard across her face as she gasped seeing the fact of Luke before her. She was panting, the same panic taking over her like it had the first time she had touched a lightsaber. She was grasping to get her breath as both Luke and Ahsoka bent over her in a caring manner.

“Whatever you saw it wasn’t real.” Ahsoka said gently as she ran her hand across Rey’s hair.

Rey snapped her head to look at her, shaking in disagreement “It felt real” She sobbed. “It was real.” She made eye contact with the older woman, silently pleading for Ahsoka to believe her. Whatever she had seen, whomever she had been in that moment, it was real.

Ahsoka nodded, small enough for only Rey to see. “Are you alright?” Luke was asking her as he helped her to her feet. Rey nodded, even though it wasn’t the truth. “What was that?” He asked as he looked at Ahsoka.

She could only guess. “Some sort of security measure, to ward off wanders.” She replied gently. She looked around confused. “I thought the Empire used this place?”

“They did.” Luke replied. “But it’s been abandoned for thirty years.”

Ahsoka nodded as she closed her eyes for the moment feeling around her. It was as if the sides of the Force were at war over this place, they had taken it back and were in a silence battle over the allegiance of the grounds themselves.

She began walking, noticing the major and small changes that the Empire had made to the building and the way they were slowly crumbling. Luke bowed his head as he began to follow her lead. “What did you see?”

Her shoulders rose and fell. “The first Jedi I ever met.” She said with a pang. “You?”

Luke looked around at their surroundings, the air as filled with dust and yet the light was still shining down upon the temple as if it was a holy place “Some twisted reality in which my father never became Darth Vader, and Amara and I were trained here on Coruscant, I think.” He turned his head to look at Rey who was running her fingers across the hilt of her lightsaber. “What did you see.”

“You.” Rey lied. “I saw you.” She said as they climbed the stairs to the second level.

The only sounds were their feet across the floor. The tall ceilings rose above them, the banners with the Imperial symbol hanging from the wall, a few torn or stained with age but some still hung resplendent. They walked each with a weapon in hand and yet they were calm, almost feeling safe here within the former beast’s den.

They came to another staircase and there were sounds in the distance “They’re here.” Ahsoka whispered her voice echoing.

“I know.” Luke said as he turned and looked at Rey, taking her by the hand. “You have to hide.”

She shook her head as she looked at him. “I’m hiding, I can fight.”

“I know you can fight.” He said strongly, silently cursing her stubbornness “But I can’t let her get you. I can’t lose you, not again.” He met her in eye, looking at her with such weariness as he grasped onto her hands. “You were right. I should have fought for you when you were younger. Let me fight for you now.”

She looked him in the eye, knowing that he was telling her his impassioned truth. “I don’t want to lose my family again.” She said aware of how much she sounded like a child.

“You won’t.” Luke promised her.

She nodded and allowed him to hug her tightly before the took a step back, feeling the scavenger in her soul return as she looked at the ruin. Ahsoka grabbed her hand and whispered a warning into her ear. “Be careful, the Force is strong here, and it can pull you in many ways.”

Rey smiled at her gloomy look before she adjusted the bow staff on her shoulder and set off on an adventure.

**

“Nice shot Snaps.” He called out as he watched the plane pull up proudly from the sharp dive that it had taken. The X-wing rose high up in the sky nearly past all the fighting until it banked back around to join in the rest of the fight.

“Thanks Poe.” He heard the voice call back. “Watch your tail.”

Finn was already firing away at the TIE Fighters swooping down upon them. He clipped is wing panel sending the ship spinning away from them. “Never got around to those shields did they.” Poe muttered with a smile out of the corner of his mouth. He was feeling much giddier considering he had imagined fifteen minutes ago that he was about to die in the Millennium Falcon.

Finn let out a laugh behind him and he turned his head briefly to look at the other man. He sighed content as he turned his attention back to the battle at hand. Fires were ablaze beneath them as they swooped in the skies.

“Black Leader.” Came a voice over the communication lines.

“Copy.” Poe replied as he banked hard left to avoid being seen by another enemy ship.

“Please join the squadron which is beginning an attack run on a Star Destroyer.”

He felt a whistle slip out of his mouth, but he knew there was no way to deny the command. “Copy that we are joining the attack.” He replied as he pulled the ship up to join the combination of star Fighters heading towards the nearest Star Destroyer.

“Kriff.” Finn breathed when they were off he open channel. “If we take down a Star Destroyer over this populated of an area?”

Poe agreed with him, the amount of destruction it could cause to the planet below was hard to justify “It’s not going to be pretty, but maybe it we make a move to attack one it will get out of the airspace.”

“You really think so?” He asked back, but they both knew what the answer was. The First Order wouldn’t care if they took out a sector of the planet below it would just be more fuel to add to their fires of recruitment.

Finn glanced down at the temple which the Order was centered around, he knew they were there. That it would all be over soon, that this wasn’t a fight for no purpose, at least that was what he hoped.

**

She knew it wasn’t real, that it was just a trick of the Force, of the light side; but Amara still did not pull herself out of the swirling state of image she saw before her. She saw her own mother, smiling at her when she was little, screaming as the red lightsaber which killed her was brought towards her. She saw her childhood, living in the Empire trained by the best to be the best. She saw the early missions she had gone on with Darth Vader, of her meeting with the Emperor. The last chaotic days of the Empire were flashing before her eyes, hiding the remains of the Imperial Fleet, promising to let their ideas rise once more as the met Luke Skywalker. Maybe she had once really loved him, there had been so many days in which it seemed like it. He had wanted to know so much about his father and she had all the answers.

Then she was trading Jedi with him, watching as the New Republic began to crack and divide into factions as those who were loyal to the cause, to her saw their opportunity. Then came Rey, the little girl she held in her arms, the sheer force of power and potential. If the three of them weren’t going to bring back the empire, the two of them would.

Rey was still alive; she knew it to be true. It had always been true. No matter who tried to keep her from her daughter, Amara knew she would find her way.

“Amara.” She turned to see the ghostly image of her true father. Luke had spoken of him like he was a saint, but she knew him differently.

She had always been intrigued by the notion of Obi-Wan Kenobi, there was no denying it. She wore his old cloak, she had longed to have his lightsaber, she had wanted a part of the legacy of who she was, but she didn’t want to be like him. “Father.” She said gently as she looked at the old man before her. She was close to that age now, watching as he shook his head at her.

“There will never be enough power for you, enough control for you to grasp, will there?”

She blinked at him coolly, he could haunt her with his lectures but he had never been there during her life, he had never come to find or rescue her. Luke was more important to him than his own child. “It is my life.” She replied crisply as she looked at the disappointment on his face.

“And it is the way of the Sith that you follow.”

“I never learned the way of the Jedi.” Her voice was dry. “Perhaps if you had found me things would have gone differently.”

“I tried.”

She shook her head. “No you didn’t, not really. Because I wasn’t the hope that was promised.” She sighed, having accepted the truth long ago. “I was the break in the vow you always regretted.”

“Amara that’s not true” But his voice was fading as she awoke and sat up to see that she was alone. But being along didn’t bother her, she had been alone almost all her life. She stood and dusted herself off before she reached down to her communicator. She wasn’t alone in the temple and it was a large place, she would need help finding those whom she seeked.

“Send in my squadron, and set their weapons for stun.”

**

It was dusty and overgrown, filled with half created pathways which beckoned her deeper into the wilderness. Rey walked forward, each step towards the unknown filling her with joy as she mentally plotted ahead her next few steps.

There was a soft metallic jingle. She froze to determine if the sound a was coming from her, but it continued. She crouched down to the dusty floor her heart pounding with excitement as the flash of white caught her eye. The Stormtroopers walked by but she remained crouched until she was certain they had passed.

She jumped up, feeling only more curious, more mischievous as she continued into the wilds of the temple. He had told her to hide, he had not told her she could not explore as well.

She continued to make her way down the twisting and narrow path, wondering what beauty would reward her at the end. She turned around the corner the light streaming in through the large windows as she saw before her a garden and stream left to go wild through the doorway.

The beauty left her breathlessly for a moment before she saw the figure sitting on the bench, head down in intent focus.

She was panicked for a moment before the man looked up. "Hello Rey."

There was a log resting across the stream she inched towards it placing her feet gingerly on. She moved with one foot in the front of the other until she made her way across. She stepped on the bank and looked back not even sure that she was in the Temple anymore. She looked down at the clear water moving rapidly along. The sun hit it in patches shining silver light, shining into her eyes making her squint to avoid blindness. She turned and looked at the old man who was sitting on the bench looking at her expectantly. "I always liked the water too." He said with a wide grin.

She sat down next to him looking at his pale wrinkled hands and his bright eyes. “With water there is life.” He said gently as the small fish in the stream struggled against the current.

“Did you study here in the Temple?” Rey asked him as she looked at the lush green and blue surrounding them.

He shook his head. “No.” He said his voice almost like a hiss. “Not here.”

“But you were a Jedi right?” She asked him.

“In a manner of speaking.” He smiled at her. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Those who study the ways of the Force have gone by many names throughout history.”

She nodded as she looked around the serene garden. This small corner of the world was peaceful but she knew the battle that waged overhead was anything but. “Are the ways of the Force always so docile, so passive?” She asked her words turning like dust in her mouth.

He shook his head, something which surprised her. “Emotion is at the core of everything we do. Emotion is around us, it is inevitable. The love we have for family, the hatred we have towards others. Fear and hope, once cannot exist without the other.”

She looked down at her hands, and then up at this great stone monument which was the pinnacle of all that she was supposed to be. She had only just begun to feel it, the Force flowing through her, the power and potential it housed within her. “Do you think I can do it?” She asked him. “Do you think I can be a Jedi?”

He turned and looked at her with a serious expression. “I know you have the potential for great things.” He said as he eyed the lightsaber which she had made herself from the old crystals.

A wide smile fell across her lips as she looked at the man with wrinkled hands and short white hair. “Are you one of my grandfathers?”

“No.” He said in the same airy voice of someone who was used to speaking in front of a crowd. “But I knew them both very well.”


	19. Chapter Nineteen

He kept hearing voices, no matter which was he turned his head no matter how hard he tried to clear his head the voices kept coming. Whispering into his ear things in other languages, phrases he didn’t understand. Sometimes it was a desperate cry for help other times it was a worn out teaching. His mother was holding onto his hand, but he didn’t remember if she had been the one to initiate it, or if he had.

Leia was leading him with such certainty, such determination through the wide staircases and high ceilings hallways. To her, none of this was really impressive or intimidating.  She had grown up in a palace, she had spent her whole life in political halls which silently argued for architectural dominance. But she felt strange, as if there was an unbearable heat around her. She could connect the Force but it hardly ever enveloped her as it did now, she felt as if there would never be any sort of relief, she wasn’t nearly as affected as her son.

“Ben.” She said in a small whisper and yet her voice echoed against the walls of this empty space. “Come on.” She tugged at his hand, so determined to get back to the safety of her own military, to get off this planet.

But he stopped in his tracks, looking at her with a jilted expression. “Don’t you hear it?” He asked her as he looked around, the voices beginning to drive him to a fever pitch.

She took a step towards him, looking up at his face with her own squinted glance of uncertainty “Hear what?” She asked as kindly as she could.

He looked at his mother. He felt safe, knowing that she could do her very best to protect him if anything were to happen and yet the rising hum in his head was initiating the part of him which reacted to danger. He let go of her hand, the Force was strange in this place, stranger than either of them had really planned for. But his mother couldn’t feel it as well as he could, she hadn’t been trained at a young age like he had, she didn’t want to feel it.

“Ben?” She asked him again, her voice small and making no attempt to hide her fear.

But it would be alright, he would be alright. This had been what he had fought against for years, the pull of the Force in on direction in particular. What was the use of trying to fight against it when he was in this temple of all places? He closed his eyes, letting the voices come streaming in rising in a crescendo as voices began to take physical form of ghostly old masters before him. He opened his eyes looking at the specters which his mother couldn’t see.

“I believe he is the choose one.” Said a sharp man with long hair down past his shoulders, he didn’t know his name but Ben knew what he was referring to.

“The one to bring balance to the Force.” He knew that voice and face, Obi-Wan Kenobi Luke’s teacher the man whom he was named for.

“But I failed.” For a second he thought the voice was his own, then he saw the third figure appearing.

“Grandfather!” He cried aloud, Leia flinching as she looked around wildly trying to see what her son saw.

He saw before him the true image of the man behind the mast. The broken and sacred pale face of what Anakin Skywalker had become. The exterior he had worn had all be in deception, the fooling intimidating dark shadow that could terrorize with shadow alone. He himself had intimidating the look the best he could with the needless mask and many layers of Kylo Ren, the man he had become. But inside each of those dark shells there were pale men, one of whom could not survive without the life support suit he wore.

“You’ve been asking for my help.” Anakin Skywalker said.

Ben shook his head. “But you haven’t been answering grandfather.”

“You haven’t been ready.” Obi-Wan called out in reply.

“But I know the ways of the Force.” He called out, with a cry that made him sound like a whining child.

The third ghost shook his head. “No.” He said firmly, Qui-Gon the name was running across his mind. The man who had found Anakin so many years ago and seen the power within him. “You know the powers of the Dark Side.”

He hung his head, knowing that they were right. He knew how to take the easy path, how to use his anger to lash out and destroy. Jedi were supposed to be guardians and peacekeepers; he hadn’t been either. “That’s not the path I am taking any more.” He said in a small voice.

“Good.” Anakin replied deeply.

“But how do I destroy the Dark Side, how do I break apart the First Order and the remnants of the Empire?”

Qui-Gon, who knew now in his wisdom that the child he had died to protect, that the arguments he had made for Anakin had all be in vain shook his head. “Anakin was never meant to destroy the Dark Side.” He said knowing his folly in death.

“The darkness can never be fully destroyed.” Obi-Wan added.

Anakin looked at him, at Ben one small part of his legacy. He himself had failed to do what so many had expected of him, Luke had failed as well. “The chosen one is meant to bring _balance_ to the Force.”

With that they were gone. He looked around sorely wishing they were still here to whisper advice in his ears. His mother was looking at him, having only heard his parts of the conversation. “Ben?” She said as she took his hand again.

Giving in to the light side meant making the difficult choices, he knew that now. “I’m fine.” He breathed as he felt the First Order communicator he wore beeping. He looked down at the message Amara asking where he was. He couldn’t run away from the man his aunt had turned him into, not yet. “Go find Luke.” He told his mother. “I’ll be alright.”

**

 Jessika stepped into the temple half expecting to fall to the floor like she had seen the others do so, but she wasn’t a Jedi, she didn’t feel the Force any particularly stronger than most other people in the universe. She still had the blaster in her hands, feeling more confident with a handful of weapons she made her way through the darkened hallways. She didn’t have a map; she didn’t have a layout of the many levels of what had once been a lush temple. She only had her own senses. She need to find Rey, the others as well, but she knew that if she found Rey she would be safe. This would all be over soon, if she was very lucky they would be able to kill Amara and the war would be over for good.

That was the plan that she had in her head as she began to walk through the many levels, listening intently. It was an old and empty building, that was all that she saw. Perhaps fifty years ago this place would have been different, maybe in the future it would be different too, but until that day ever came there as nothing to see other than empty halls covered with dust.

She walked along with only her own thoughts to accompany her. When this was all over she wanted to sleep for a long time. She wanted to rest somewhere on a planet with a sandy beach and spend a whole day not taking orders. The only person she wanted by her side was Rey, and they would talk about what to do next. Jess could fly, Rey was good with ships maybe their future lay in taking to the skies in finding next planets and exploring more ruined places like this.

She knew Rey was near, with every step she took she could feel it. She walked each step making her more hopeful until she heard a familiar clipped voice. “Rey?” She whispered as she stepped towards an open doorway leading out to a terrace.

Jessika leaned against the side of the doorway, seeing the air fight happening in the skies over head. She heard the voice yet again. “Rey.” She cried out as she looked and saw the woman sitting on a bench, talking rapidly to the cloud of darkness which enveloped her.

**

“Who were you?” Rey asked the old man whom she saw before her.

“I was once very powerful just as you will be.” He replied, the smile across his face almost becoming sickly as he looked at her with such force.

“I’ll never be that powerful.” Rey whispered with a shake of her head. There was potential in her, she knew that to be true, but it was unrefined even with the little training that Luke had given her. She knew where her problem lay. “I feel too much, I have too many emotions.” She said in reply echoing what Luke had always been on about in her training. If she had too many emotions back when they were training her emotional capacity had only been magnified in recent weeks, learning so much of the truth of who she was.

The truth was twisting through her, always preset in her mind as those lost memories of her childhood slowly ran back into her mind. Her parents had been kind and cared for her, and then they had sent her away and left her to be forgotten. As much as they had both intended for her to be trained in the ways of the Force, they had also left her to a life in which she never would have heard of a Jedi in anything other than fairytales.

She looked at the rolling stream before her, the sun blazing down upon her and the cool water which she was so tempted to place her hand in. Then she turned and looked at the old man, wondering who he really was. “Give in to your emotions.” He said in encouragement. “The fear, anger, the love that you feel. They are a part of you, they are your path.”

“Rey!” She heard a voice calling out her name, and her heart rose and she looked up past the river bank to see Jessika standing in a doorway among the meadow of wildflowers “Rey.” She cried out again. “Come inside.”

Rey looked back at her companion on the bench, but the man had disappeared. She made her way across the log and back through the doorway into the darkness of the temple. Jessika threw her arms around her, kissing her tightly as Rey struggled to see with the change of light.

“Are you alright?” Jess asked as she pulled away making sure her hair did not catch in the crannies of Rey’s metal hand.

Rey nodded as she looked at Jessika. “How did you get free?”

Jessika shrugged. “I saw an opportunity to run and I took it.” She paused looking out at the ships flying outside, red and green bursts of lasers dotting the air. The dark cloud was gone but she still wondered what had caused Rey to sit outside with the fire raining down upon her. “What about you, are you ok?”

Rey nodded. “I’m fine.” She looked at Jessika was a great smile. “We need to find the others.”

She hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure?” Jessika asked her. “We could just leave and meet up with them later.”

She shook her head, knowing that she. She didn’t know why she wanted to stay, or what she wanted to see. Luke and Ahsoka they had both arrived with the intention of stopping Amara, of killing her and Rey wanted to be there. To help them even though they had told her to stay put. She looked at Jessika flashing her a smile. “Just trust me.” She said as she began to set off against through the ruins of the temple seeking out the others.

**

“They’re not moving.” Poe muttered under his breath as they passed by the side of the Star Destroyer once more. He had assumed they would move, that they would be considerate to those innocent people bellow. But this was the First Order they were dealing with, this was a group of people who had kidnapped and brainwashed children into their foot soldiers.

“Let start taking out to the launch bays.” Finn let out in a suggestion, silently agreeing with Poe that drawing the ship so close to a planet of trillions would not be smart.

“Where are those?” Poe asked

“Turn right.”

He followed the command flying alongside the side of the ship. The air craft they were in wasn’t as nimble as most of the ships he was used to flying, but he managed to make it work as he twisted and turned close in to the ship so that its own weapons towers couldn’t get them. They were skimming close to the surface firing at whatever was possible when anything was possible.  He had never taken down a Star Destroyer it was a little bit thrilling. A thought ran across his mind, he had taken out the Starkiller, this was nothing. But he had help on that mission from people on the ground and a coordinated strike team. Now they were just shooting at random and occasionally yelling out a formation over the chattering comms.

“Those it.” He said as he looked at the wide bay of ships located at the sides of the Destroyer.

“That’s it.” Finn said with excitement as he opened fire, aiming not at the ships but rather at the points which controlled the force field protecting the landing bays. They were in atmosphere so it wouldn’t cause as much damage as if they had exposed such an area in the vacuum of space, but there were still high up the oxygen had to be fairly thin.

“Hey whose doing that?” Came over the lines

“Poe Dameron” He said his voice boyish once more. “Come and join the party.” He added as they pulled away and did a flip in midair to turn and come back again from a different angle.

Finn continued firing. Away until they had taken out all of the shields on the flight decks on this side of the ship. “Head to the to the other side?” He asked.

Poe nodded and rose the ship upwards, but as he did so another voice rang out in their ears. “Begin the attack run now.”

It took a moment for them both to realize what was happening. For a moment they had both hoped that they had gotten a First Order signal, but as they rose up higher over the Star Destroyer they saw the collection of Resistance ships heading their way. “What are you doing?” He yelled incredulously.

But as the rain of laser fire began no one answered him. Finn turned his head physical around to see what was happening. “If that ship comes down….” His voice stopped as he saw the massive amount of fire heading towards the control tower. But the fires were already beginning to spark alongside the hull of the ship. They could fire back but its fate was sealed. “Get us out of here.” Finn yelled uselessly, Poe already had them rising up towards the outer limits of the atmosphere as the Star Destroyer began to tilt perilously downwards.

There was nothing to stop it as it slowly fell towards the planet bellow.

**

He walked down the steps feeling his head light and heavy upon his head as if he was in a dizzying dream.

“Kylo.”  His old master called out as she saw him. It echoed back around the stone walls. _Kylo….Kylo….Kylo_ like an bad infection which he couldn’t get rid of.

With each step he took towards her the name faded away, and the shadow that Kylo Ren had cast upon him faded as well. He felt his hand move to the hilt of the red lightsaber, unstable and unsure. The weapon which he had made under her guidance which had killed at her command. It would kill once more at her command, he would he would kill her, he would bring balance to the Force in doing so. He continued in a slow processional down the stairs and across the great stone floor of what had once been a grand hall.

Amara was standing in the middle of the wide open space, her arms folded across her chest as she looked out of the open doorway. The light which streamed through and hit upon her face cast her in a beautiful manner, reminding him of the kind aunt whom he had cherished as a child.

He stopped, mere steps away from her looking to his left and through the broken doorway. He could see the battle in the skies and beneath it all the large outline of the _Millennium_ _Falcon_. The grand old ship was half falling apart and perpetually dirty, yet it loomed over the other ships that the Resistance had landed. There was clarity as for a moment he felt pang of longing looking at the ship beyond, a signal that everything was going to go according to plan.

Then the _Millennium Falcon_ and the ships surrounding it exploded in a fiery ball of red and orange flames.

He broke out into a run screaming at the top of his lungs as he raced towards the debris of the ship. He was tearing at the heavy layers of the outfit he wore throwing them away into the rubble as the last reaming remnant of his father disappeared before his eyes. "Nooooo." He yelled as his legs kicked out underneath him running as fast and far as he could.

Amara reached out her arm and froze him in place. He stopped in mid stride unable to do anything but watch as the fames continued to spark, melting the glass and metal of the beloved spacecraft.

"Thank you." She breathed coolly. "For showing me the truth." Amara replied as she walked past him, leaving him in place.

She was going to leave him there for all eternity to watch as the flames slowly died, and all that was left of his childhood memories were twisted metal. He knew the looked on his face was that of shock and horror, he knew that his body was shaking with effort. He had seen it all before when he had been the one to use his powers in such a way on Poe Dameron and countless others.  

_Jedi don't have attachments_. The ghostly voice rang out in his ear. But who had made up that rule, he wanted to shout back. How could you fight for something when you didn't care about the outcome. He was attached to things, things like melted helmets and spaceships. Amara had considered it as strength in pulling him towards the Dark Side; but seeing the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ turn to ashes was the final push to the side of heroes.

There were footsteps and he could tell who it was, his mother approaching from the west. Of course she had followed him, he expected nothing less. And more footsteps, more souls shining out through the aura of the Force. Rey and Jessika hidden in a doorway. Maybe he wasn’t a Jedi, maybe he would never be a Jedi, but his attachments were his strength.

Unable to take his eyes off of the burning wreckage, unable to blink he did the impossible and cleared his mind. He felt the energy surrounding him, the power both flowing through his body and the power holding him back. He had been trained to use that power, and he did. With great effort his head slowly tilted around as he looked over his shoulder to the teacher who was walking away from him. Amara stopped fear flashing on her face for only a moment, as she was shocked by his breaking free.

A single sound rang out in the hall, the small clattering of a metal clasp as the lightsaber attached to Leia began to shake. It rose away from her and into Ben's hands as he regained control of his own body. The lightsaber flew into his hand, hope washing over him as he unhooked the unstable red blade, tossing it to his mother.

The yellow and red blades ignited as Amara slowly turned her head to view the two figures standing at the stop of the stairs. Hooded and only visible in silhouettes the green and two white blades ignited as Luke and Ahsoka engaged in the battle.

She raised her head slowly looking up and making eye contact with Luke and Luke alone. He walked down the stairs with the courage of a younger man. He looked at the red blade in her hand knowing this was who she had always been, there was never any hope of turning her.

“You can’t win Amara.” He said in a gruff voice as the four began to close in on her.

“No.” She said in agreement, and then a calm serenity washed across her. “But I will win.” She said in contradiction as she began to charge towards Leia.

Her son stepped in the way, raising his own weapon high as he protected his mother. For a moment the red and yellow blade clashed as the master and her former apprentice fought one another. They moved in smooth and graceful arcs, their blades rising high above their heads and falling greatly as they swirled around one another in a twisting dance.

No words were spoken between the pair and they dogged in and out, knowing each other’s fighting style so well that there was no way they could get an advantage. But Amara had years of experience on her side, and as they turned in circles around one another she let her blade slip cutting him against the back of his leg.

Ben fell to his knees as the tendon was cut, crying out in pain unable to stand but waiting to continue the fight. Leia began to run at full speed instinct taking over but before she could strike Amara raised a single hand, forcing her to fall down unconscious.

“Mother” Ben called out as he pulled himself to her. He held his mother’s head in his lap as he looked at his former teacher with hatred but she had already moved on.

Ahsoka stepped forward standing resolute as she looked at the woman.

Amara shook her head as if the match was too easy. “I am a Sith Lord, my master was Darth Vader.” She said as if the woman was a fool to try and challenge her.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. “And I am the true apprentice of Anakin Skywalker.” The surprise in Amara’s eyes showed that this was a fact of the man whom she had worshiped for so long that she had never known.

They ran at one another, the red blade meeting against her two white ones as they glared at one another, emotions getting the better of them. Ahsoka jumped high up into the air with the nimbleness of a younger woman as the other staggered to catch her balance. Ahsoka continued to jump and twirl seeking the higher ground in the pillars which had fallen to the ages.

Amara chased after her and they met atop the fallen pillar blades clashing as they tried to push the other off. Behind them the hung another banner of the imperial symbol painted over by unknown hands as the Jedi star bird. It waved in the gentle wind from the explosion of the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ as their blades met. Neither woman was by definition the class of warrior they claimed themselves to be, but they had both been the last of their kind for long enough that they had twisted definitions in their favor.

“The Jedi were weak, that’s why none are left.” Amara spat as their blades crossed again. “You’re weak too.”

“No.” Ahsoka corrected her. “The Jedi were massacred. More than once in my lifetime by the Sith who were too afraid of the power of the Light Side.” There was a smile across the elder woman’s face. Maybe she still lived by the Jedi code but either way she was still a renegade. “Your master spared me, did you know that?”

The hesitation on her face gave away the answer that she did not dare to speak. Amara had never been told about the confrontation her master once had in the Sith Temple, just as he had never told her about Ahsoka. “An act of weakness.” She said as she jabbed forward almost pushing Ahsoka of balance.

“No.” She said softly remembering the disparity and conflict she had seen behind the mask. “An act of who he truly was.” She shouted as she stepped back placing distance between them.

She turned her head and looked at the legacy of Anakin Skywalker which was all around her in the Temple. Luke and Leia who helped gain freedom for the galaxy. Ben and Rey, the continuation of the hope that Qui-Gon Gin had seen in the eyes of a slave from Tatooine. They would keep fighting till the war was one, till the prophecy was fulfilled.

She had wondered for years why he had spared her when they had met all those years ago. But perhaps he had known the role she still had to play in the battle to the balance the Force. She looked around at the temple which she had grown up in as a child, which she had walked away from, which had been desecrated by evil forces. Suddenly she saw before her the faces of friends and teachers whom she had lost. But one face shone out the brightest.

_Snips… you’re not done yet._ Ahsoka lowered her lightsabers and looked in the eyes of the deranged woman before her. She had seen so many in her time captivated by the idea of the Dark Side, but few quite so loyal as Amara.

“He was my teacher and my friend. He was Anakin… he was always Anakin underneath.” Ahsoka said as the red blade stuck near her chest, she blocked it easily and jumped off the parapet.

Amara jumped down and charged at her, she had insulted Vader, the man whom she had followed whom she had loved as a father. She would not let the insult stand. She swung her red blade with a careless ferocity, betraying all the gentle and guided arcs she had been taught to use with the weapon. Her anger had her hacking away, but Ahsoka had not only two blades she was the better fighter. She blocked and aimed finally making a quick but vital contact against the other woman’s back.

The wound cauterized instantly but Amara still cowered back in pain. She turned her attention to the other opponent. Luke looked weak and worn with age, broken and shattered, like someone she could easily defeat.

Luke raised his weapon and looked at her wearily. “Was it always a lie?” He called out to his wife as she approached him. “Was there ever a point when I could have stopped you from becoming this?”

Her shoulders rose and fell as she contemplated whether or not to tell him the truth. There had been something which would have swayed her, a person would could have made her give up the darkness which had taken over her for so long, but Luke had taken that away from her. “No.” She lied as she raised her weapon to him.

He wasn’t even fighting back, not properly, as she hacked away at him. Her own moves becoming less elegant as she let her rage towards him flow freely from herself.  The anger that they had once had for one another in the years they had been together was flowing in each strike. The despite that had grown in the time they had seen each other allowed them to raise their blades as they pushed one another back and forth over the temple each strike hitting only the other blade.

Luke was trying to be calm, but he was worried. His thoughts towards his friends and those he loved had always been his weakness and it wrapped around him once more as those same emotions fueled her hatred. He almost had her cornered when a large blast shook the planet down to its core. The Star Destroyer high above had crashed down into the planet.

Luke staggered back and Amara lunged forward placing her crimson blade at the base of his neck as she towered over him.

“Go ahead.” He said gently. “Isn’t this why you have been searching for me for all this time.”

She looked at him and smiled, like he a foolish child who could not understand the rules of the game. “Oh Luke.” She cooed in his ear so only he could hear. “I was never looking for you.”  She retracted her blade as she looked up.

Rey had stepped out of the shadows and was standing still with her arms at her side as she looked at her parents before her. Amara walked towards her daughter and wrapped her arms around her “Rey.” She breathed into her ear, but Rey was emotionless as she looked beyond at Luke who was kneeling still confused. “I’m so sorry. I tried to find you.” She said her voice expressive and honest. “I looked so hard for you, I never stopped looking. Rey…” She pulled back and clasped her daughters head in her hands.

Rey looked at her dumbstruck. “You told Ben to kill me.” She said in a tiny voice

Amara shook her head profusely. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to.” She looked down at grasped at her metallic hand. “I’m so sorry that he hurt you.” She was looking at her with an expression which Rey had never seen before on anyone else. “Rey… tell me do you remember how I… how I loved you?” She pleaded with her, her voice desperate.

Rey looked past her, she looked at Luke who was rising to his feet but saying nothing in return.

“I….” She paused, trying her best to access those memories which had only been recently given back to her. And she could remember, the joy in her mother’s eyes all those years ago. “I remember.” She breathed with a tear forming in her eye as Amara pulled her in for an embrace again.

“Rey.” Her mother breathed into her ear. “I promise to never let you go again.”

She pulled back sharply her eyes darting around the room. “What if I want to go with him?” Rey asked sharply.

There was a hurt expression on her mother face. “Then you can go.” She said stiffly. “But Rey.” She added, “I would have never abandoned you. I never would have left you to fend for yourself on a foreign planet. Rey…” She paused each time relishing in each time she said her daughter’s name “You and I, together anything can be ours.” Rey looked between Amara and Luke who was slowing being to approach. “The choice is yours.” Amara added as she stepped back and began to make her way to the open doorway.

Rey looked at Luke who was shaking his head, but saying nothing as she looked between him and her mother who was looking at her kindly. She looked over her shoulder at Jessika, no longer hiding but pleading with her eyes for her to make a particular choice. Luke had lied to her; Leia had lied to her.

The Force was pulling on her, pushing at her anger and her emotions. She knew from her time on Starkiller, from her trainings and her missions that when she gave into her emotions she gave into the raw power of the force. Rey looked at her parents Amara bathed in light and Luke standing in the darkness.

She closed her eyes, clearing her mind for a moment. There was silence before a whoosh of air filled her ears. She opened her eyes, looking out at the city beyond seeing as the point of the Star Destroyer pierced at Coruscant like an arrow.

The sound of the crash made the ground shake beneath them, made them all jump with uncertainly as survival rather than revenge flooded to the forefronts of their minds. The sounds of screams rang out across the empty battlefield as smoke and fire appeared in the distance. There was another gust of wind, the blast of the impact reaching the tunnel brining in ashes and smoke from the wreckage to darken the hall once more.

Rey cleared her mind, remembering the choice she had made before the distraction and she took a step forward

 “Rey?” Luke called out in a soft disappointed voice but he said nothing else as she continued to walk away from him straight towards her mother.

“Rey!” Jessika’s voice was high pitched as she ran towards her “Rey please…. Please Rey I love you…. don’t, don’t go.” She whined but Rey kept walking never looking back.

“REY.” Ben was screaming, trying to stand up but unable to do so. “REY NO…. REY DON’T GO.” She was standing in the doorway the smoke and ash swirling around the women as Amara took a hold of her daughter’s mechanical hand.

Rey reached down at the blue lightsaber she had made and dropped it on the temple floor. “DON’T GO…. DON’T LEAVE ME!” Ben Solo cried out, the anger was there within him right under the surface. Kylo Ren was ready to come out and seek bloody vengeance but he pushed the darkness aside knowing it was the right way to win battles. With a great deal of concentration he felt the light around him and rose to his feet.

But it was already too late, Rey was gone.

 

 


	20. Chapter Twenty

Three Years After the Battle of Coruscant

She sat in the cockpit of the X-wing looking down at her gloved hands as they moved over the controls. It felt surreal to be in the ship that was just as buggy and jumpy as the stories which her father had once told her about the star fighters. It didn't matter that you had to sometimes overcorrect on the banking and that the firing toggle occasionally got stuck, _she was in an X-wing_. She was finally part of the fight. But as the blue glow of hyperspace came to slow down around her she looked not onto a battle, but four ships alone in the darkness of deep space.

She looked down at her computer, double checking that these were the mythical S starfighters that she had heard rumors of. Nearly every pilot she had met in the past two years had mentioned seeing them at one time or another. They claimed the new ships moved like a snake in the sky, or that their wings were curled and twisted in the shape of the letter. But the ships before her eyes did not resemble the tales she had overheard even though her computer was designating them as such.

The S Starfighters were like long matte needles, silver and gold at the same time with small recessed ports along the shaft for weapons to fire. But there were no wings to the ship at all, it was a metallic curve glittering against the velvety darkness of space. The only variance in its sleek shape being the cockpit resting in the eye of needle.

She took a deep shaking breath to try and calm her nerves as she spoke the words which she had been practicing all through her hyperspace journey. "Danta Squadron, this is Corona Twelve."

_Danta Squadron_ , she repeated to herself again as she waited for a response. She had heard whispers of the elite group and the missions they performed. She knew that possibly of anything she was about to do in the upcoming war this might still be the crowning moments. In the years to come she wouldn’t remember the battles to come, but rather than time she herself met the Danta Squadron.

There was a crackle in her helmet as the communications line went live, _"_ Greetings Corona Twelve." The voice was rich and smooth, more like a crooner in an exclusive cantina that that of a pilot. "What can we do for you?"

There was static as the line opened again, but she was hesitant. An hour ago she had been handed a small slip of paper, a complete rarity in the galaxy and told to head to these coordinated by General Skywalker. She was still in shock over meeting one of the leaders of the Resistance that she was hardly able to communicate what she knew now. The pure excitement of being part of the revolution clashing against her professional sensibilities.

She spoke, knowing how accented and clipped her voice sounded, but it wasn't her fault that she had grown up on such a distant world. "I have coordinates for you."

A new voice spoke, a woman's stale and hard. "Transfer them over."

The X-wing pilot tapped at her computer screen, the information beeping as it was sent to the four others. She waited in silence, seeing that the message had gone through as they seeming contemplated a response.

She noticed then that none of the fighters were marked with any Resistance symbols or even numerical markings, but the four pilots had made them their own. One contained a small scratching of X shapes, clearly a kill count. Another had a small red flower painted near the cockpit, and another had small aurebesh letters down the side. The last ship, with a long golden line, similar to a death stripe running down the side silently flipped tail over nose, an indication of communication among the squadron as the line opened again.

_"_ On my mark." The female voice said, determination lining it.

"Do I come too?" Came the hurried voice of Corona Twelve.

"Yes." A man said sharply.

"Three, two, one.... mark."

 

They came out of hyperspace in just a few minutes, the planet below them one of the many inner rim planets which were populated by migratory species. The name was unfamiliar to all which only meant it had not yet been a battle ground in the war against the First Order, until today that was.

The five ships shuddered pleasantly as they broke the atmosphere seeing the world of green and blue beneath the shining silver ships. It was an agricultural planet dotted, its square fields with contrasting crops painting the surface of the planet a crisp mesmerizing geometric pattern.  Yet among the subtle beauty of the flora and fauna there were columns of smoke rising in the distance.

Corona Twelve looked down at her display which was pouring in with information "The city has been destroyed." She said in horror. All the stories she had heard of the Danta Squadron had been of their heroics, of saving people and beating the First Order at their game. This seemed to go against every whisper she had heard.

"But there are survivors." Smoky and gritty came the voice from one of the two pilots who had remained silent.

The woman sighed as she spoke _._ "Let's find a place to set down, we'll approach on foot."

"Danta Leader pleased be advise this could be a trap." Spoke the final voice of the last pilot in a broad and energetic voice.

"I expect nothing less." Danta Leader replied as they swooped down less than a click from the smoldering city. The five ships landed gracefully in the flowery meadow a sharp contrast to the ash swirling around in the air.

Corona Twelve clumsily jumped down from her X-wing still wondering if after all these years why they hadn't made it easier to get out of the star fighters without the use of a ladder. Then again she had been given her choice of ships, she had been insistent on taking the older style out of nostalgia.

The S Starfighters lay nearly at ground level, the small landing feet rising them less than a meter from the ground as two of the pilots were already beginning to unload things from the ships. Upon first look they didn't seem too practical they were made out of a metal that almost looked like porcelain in the light, and from what she had seen in space they appeared to be mainly for maneuverability. But as the two men standing along the long nose, pressing away at the metal hull to reveal many hidden storage compartments capable of hiding a great deal.

Another cockpit hatch opened with a hiss and its pilot jumped out. The body within the orange flight suit, quickly removed their helmet to reveal a woman. Her black hair was cut at chin length and still matted from being under the helmet as she walked towards the younger woman with a steely determination in her eyes.

The X-wing pilot gulped withdrawing her own helmet to let the ash fall upon her dark skin and her brown hair. "Danta Leader." She said as lengthened to give a salute. The woman looked at her indignantly, eyeing her salute before the younger woman lowered her hand.

"Jessika Pava." She said in a curt introduction of herself. The young woman looked up at her, blinking her wide eyes rapidly as she let the name settle into her brain.

Jessika waited for her to say something in reply, but she stood motionless. She cursed internally as she knew exactly outline of the solider before her. She wasn't young, at least in her mid-twenties, but she hadn't been part of the war for long. That was painfully obvious as her wide honey colored back water planet eyes looked up at her in awe.

"She's in shock." The dark skinned man wearing a medical unit patch on his sleeve signifying him as a doctor called out behind her over his shoulder. The words more a comment rather than a diagnosis.

"She doesn't think we exist." Said the dark haired man exiting from the death stripe marked ship.

"Thanks captain obvious" The smooth crooner muttered out of the corner of his mouth with a wide smile.

Jessika turned on her heels walking back to her ship to get supplies, the younger Resistance pilot following after her like a pet.

“What are you going to do?” She called out as if she had been slapped into consciousness. She removed the goggles from her helmet and placed them above her temples, suddenly it was as if her character was fully realized.

Jessika turned and raised an eyebrow at her, she was in no mood to deal with this woman’s ineptitude. “Go to the village and help.” She said in a harsh voice.

She stopped in her tracks, looking at her curiously. “How?”

Jessika walked back to her ship, hitting at the panels with slightly too much force as she did her best to avoid talking to the new pilot. But she could feel the naive eyes resting on her waiting to her to give her guidance “We’ll help those who need medical attention, and try to figure out why they were attacked.” She breathed as she felt her shoulders heavy with tension which never seemed to end.

Jessika had hoped the war would be over by now, she was deeper in the trenches now than she had been three years ago. Someone had told her that was what happened to those who were a part of the fighting force from the near start. It had been meant to comfort her, to think that her experience within the Resistance was simply being rewarded with secret missions and important information. But Jessika had fallen into this position because of the woman that she had loved. And it wasn’t going to be over until they were together again on the same side.

"Corona?" The doctor scrunched his brow as he called out in an attempt of levity. "Is that a new squad? It's hard to keep track of them these days."

The young woman shook her head. "It was my dad's squadron back in the Rebellion." She said almost proudly.

Jessika grunted as she removed a large hard sided emergency kit from her ship and began to walk towards the wetlands which were between them and the destroyed town. "Yeah, well most of us have parents who fought in the Rebellion." She said the jaded voice which made it sound like there was nothing to be proud of. It was an accomplishment many claimed. She side eyed the doctor as she walked past him.

"Hey" Finn said abruptly as he followed after her quickly "I like to imagine that they did." Poe gave her a charming smile as he followed after him, the droid on his back beeping happily at her.

The man who had been in the yellow marked ship, look her lightly by the arm. She looked up into his pale pointed face and watery dark eyes. "What's your name?" He asked her gently.

"Ebby." She breathed, it almost sounded strange to have to introduce herself. She had grown up in such a small place that meeting new people wasn’t something she had to do until very recently.

"How long have you been a part of the Resistance?" He asked her. His voice was calm, almost commanding so.

"Five months." She said, blushing slightly. "I wanted to join years ago but my parents were very against it. They were both in the Galactic Civil War, and..... well some people join and only last two weeks before dying in a battle. That's what my dad always says."

He smiled as her as the smell of smoke grew stronger. "What side were they on?" He asked "I'm curious no judgments." He added as he saw her hesitation.

Ebby gave a small smile and bit her lip. "It's a long, complicated story that I don't even know all of but.... they both went through Imperial Academies but my Dad eventually joined the rebels."

"And your mom?"

She blushed even more. "It took her a long time to see the Empire for what it really was."

He nodded, almost in understanding. "Five months, you learned how to fly rather quickly then."

"I've always known how to fly." She corrected him, her smile widening once more as she became comfortable "My parents were both pilots."

"So what battles did they fly in?" He grunted as they began to follow the path that the others had taken.

Ebby frowned in thought. "Ummm.... I know my dad was on Hoth and Jakku. He did something on Endor…"

"My parents were on Hoth and Endor too."

"Really?" Ebby said her voice rising in excitement. "Oh cursed stars, I haven't asked you your name."

"Ben Solo." He said casually. Ebby stopped her tracks, her mouth hanging open as Ben continued walk on. "Yeah, that Solo. I try not to mention it too much because then people look at me like you are currently doing now." He said as he looked over his shoulder and winked at her.

Ebby ran to catch up with him. "You're.... if... you're.... then.... if you're Admiral Skywalkers’ son then?" She paused visibly flushed as she fell in step with him again. "I mean I know about the rescue of the Andorra Slaves and the destruction of the base in Hutt Space but….”

"It’s not what you imaged is it?" Ben said with a small grin on his face.

She shook her head. "What is Danta Squadron?" She breathed as their pace came to a stop with the other members of the squad. They were at the opening of the wetlands, planning a way across. A series of boardwalks made of hover platforms had been placed through the flattened grasses, but much of it had been burned away by the First Order. It would be a wet and muddy crawl towards the town.

"It’s a rescue mission" Jessika huffed as she brushed past them stepping loudly in the muddy waters as she did her best to follow along the remains of the path.

"Jess." He hissed after her in warning as Finn and Poe followed in her literal wake.

Jessika turned and looked at Ben sharply. "No that what's this is. That's what it has always been. We'll get her back, Rey or whomever she calls herself now. We'll get her back and make her remember who she really is. It’s been done before it can be done again.” She stared at him, not upset at him but determined and unwilling to be slowed down by anything.

Jessika and the two other men continued on, quickening their pace as they made their way to the city, but Ben and Ebby hung back towards the rear. They made their way slowly through the wetlands stomping through the muddy waters and whenever possible stepping on the hovering platforms.

“Oh sh-” Ebby cried out as one of them shifted beneath her arms fluttering to her side to balance herself he reached out and placed a hand on her back too steady her. "You just don't expect the ground to move beneath you.” She said with a smile on her face as she looked at Ben.

"You’re a pilot.” He said dryly has if somehow it would explain how she should be used to the constant movement. He dropped his hand away from her, falling behind her as they continued the smell of smoke getting stronger.

He watched as her tightly coiled hair bounced behind her as she led the way across the hover platforms. In a world of complex hairdos Ebby had simply pulled hers into one single tail tying it with a simple string. It seemed to accentuate her small planet demeanor.  “Where are you from?” He asked her.

“Someplace you've never hear of.” She called back.

“Oh come on I've been to a lot of planets that no one has ever hear of.”

“I bet you have.” She said sweetly.

“What's that supposed to mean?” He asked defensively.

She turned her head around to look at him. “Your dad was a smuggler; uncharted planets seem to go with the territory.”

He felt the breath catch in his throat for a moment “How do you know about my dad?”

“Everyone in the galaxy knows that Han Solo was a smuggler.” She laughed as she shook her head. “And everyone in the Resistance know how he helped take down two Death Stars and how he died helping take down Starkiller. Besides-” She paused and looked at him, her eyes softening “I already told you, my dad met him once or twice.”

He nodded, “Well what do you know about me?”

She shrugged. “Not much, you appear to be a big ‘ol mystery at the moment.”

He gave a nod that she didn’t see as she turned around and continued to walk on the path. He was glad that she didn’t know, who he had once been and what he had done. Not because he didn’t want to own up to those actions, he would tell her if the right time ever came. But he needed Ebby to trust him for the time being, and the rest of the squadron along with him.

They made their way in silence the rest of the way through the wetlands. The wind was blowing through the tall grasses but even the animals were eerily quiet as five sets of feet tramped through the dirty water and the fallen platforms. It was as if they wildlife of the planet knew that something had gone horribly wrong as well. But ground became solid once more as they climbed up a small slope and looked down at the remains of a city.

The stone buildings had been blown apart with explosions and blaster fire. Bodies were lying in the streets splayed out in the outlines of people who were trying to run. Electrical fires still sparked from the homes and transmitter towers. The wind blew through the streets howling as it rhythmically pulsed at doors swaying on hinges and hanging pieces of rubble.

Poe bent down, letting the droid rest on the ground, “Put out the fires.” He told BB-8 and it chirped back to him before it set off.

Jessika sighed, her whole body feeling stiff as she blinked away tiered eyes. She turned and looked up at Ben. “Ben are you sure there are survivors?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright then.” She breathed “Poe send out communications to whomever is close by,” Poe nodded and ran down the hill. “Ben do what you do?” She said with a careless wave of her hand. “Finn take the green one.” She snapped as she adjusted her pack on her shoulders, rolled her neck cracking it loudly before she set down towards the town.

The dark skinned doctor reached a hand out towards her. “Finn.” He said with a kind expression as he introduced himself formally.

“Ebby.” She responded as she followed him down the hill towards the town. The smell of smoke had turned to the sickly odor of burnt.

He reached around into his back and handed her a small pen like device. “Place a mark on the forehead. Black for deceased, red for urgent medical care, orange for minor medical care and….” He paused the frown on his face expressing the need that they may not need the last signal. “Blue for uninjured.”

She nodded as they stopped at the first collection of bodies. Two human men, middle aged and wearing farming clothes. She bent down and turned the man around, seeing his dull eyes. She had seen death before, mostly in animals but in people as well. But it was different as she held the pen over his forehead looking at the body for wound signs and seeing only a small burn like hole in the middle of the man’s chest. There was no blood on the man, and the wound was blackened and cauterized.

The pen was shaking in her hands as she looked over at Finn. “What kind of weapon does this.”

His face fell as he looked at the body. A hiss fell out of his mouth. “A lightsaber.” He breathed.

Ebby felt uneasy on her feet as she looked up at Finn. He reached down and placed the black mark on the man’s forehead before he reached to his communicator. “One of them is here.” He said his voice flat.

He pulled Ebby up to her feet and she looked down at the body with her brow scrunched. “A lightsaber?” She echoed suddenly feeling panicked. Her older siblings had always haunted her with nighttime tales of glowing red lightsabers being wielded by a man in a tall black suit until her mother always chastised them, shaking her head at them.

Finn saw the apprehension on her face. “Were they all killed like that?” She breathed softly.

He knew he had to tell her the truth even if it was hard. “I don’t know.” He whispered as he tilted his head so that he could catch her eyes. “Ebby? Are you going to be alright?”

Her parents had always talked about air battles, about ships exploding in mid-air and laser fire all around. No one had ever told her about this side of a war, about the bodies left on the field after a battle and those who cared after them. She looked up at Finn, he was looking at her with a comforting glance, but obviously he wanted to get back to his job. “I’ll be alright.” She breathed. “They’re aren’t going to be many survivors are there?”

Finn shook his head. Ebby gave a firm nod as if accepting the situation. “I got this area, head on over to the west.”

She nodded, climbing over the wreckage as she made her way through the streets now littered with ashes. She coughed, lowering her goggles over her eyes as the wind kicked up to make it harder to see. Her head turned with every step, the serenity of the wetlands which she had previously walked through erased with the grey and black world around her now.

A flash of color caught her eye, and Ebby was drawn towards a wall, a screen was flickering, its image now comprised of a majority of dead pixels but it’s image was still clear. She had seen it before, a hundred times, maybe even a thousand times. A Resistance recruitment poster, red and black with the familiar symbol which was sewn onto her clothes. All along the wall, pro-Resistance graffiti in dozens of languages. This was why this town was attacked, because they spoke out and the wrong people heard them.

Jessika was in her sight, her arms wrapped tightly across her chest as she frowned down at the ground. “Danta Leader.” Ebby called out and the woman turned her head to look at her. She pointed to the wall and the propaganda.

Jessika took a step towards her looking at the familiar poster changed to a newer design that Jessika had not yet seen before. It was a romanticized image of Luke and Leia, him with a lightsaber drawn her with a blaster. They were both drawn in a younger image than they actually were but the words beneath them were clear. _Join the Skywalkers in the fight against the rise of a New Empire._

It was strange to see an image of Leia with the name Skywalker so prominently attached. But the campaign of Darth Vader’s children fighting so aggressively against the tenancy of the First Order had become a prominent one. The parentage that both had once been ashamed of had become a rallying call.

Jessika knew that she wasn’t the main force in the fight, that in the scheme of things her attention and skills could be put to better use. She knew that she was wasting the time of her companions as well. But she wanted to see Rey again, it had been one day. It had been her choice to walk away, Jess had seen it with her own eyes but selfishly she wanted to be able to change Rey. She had analyzed their time together, trying to see where the fraction in the soul of the woman she loved had begun but it was impossible. Maybe Rey has always been head in down the Dark side, maybe there was nothing she could do to stop it. But she was going to try and bring her back based on the mere week they had been together. That or Rey was going to kill her, and she was fine with that alternative.

“They're getting frantic if they are just lashing out at people for speaking up.” Jess breathed as she looked at Ebby.

“Why here? Why not a whole planet that is pledged to the Resistance?”

“They don’t have the fire power.” Jess cracked a small smile for the first time since they landed on the planet. “They rely mostly on nostalgia from the days of the Empire.” She looked at the marker still in Ebby’s hand. “Come on,” She added as she began to walk towards the former square of the town.

Water was flowing freely from a well, flooding the paved stones as the crumbled remains of speeders littered the square. Ebby walked over towards the wreckage, examining and marking the bodies lying in and around the speeders.

Jessika made her way to the doorway of a market place. There was a woman, bleeding profusely from a wound in her side. She let out a feeble cough as the pilot approached.

"Dr. Dameron." Jessika called out, as the dark man came running towards her with a medical kit. Formally he still wasn't a doctor, at this rate he doubted that he would ever have the time to attend all the proper training, but they needed to do something to differentiate between the two Dameron's in the Resistance.

Finn fell to his knees, taking the bloodied woman in his arms from Jessika as she stood up hearing the sounds of screaming and cries all around. It wasn't like Rey to leave survivors. The thoughts pained her for a moment before she moved onto another one of the collapse piles of stone.

There was a small green arm wiggling slightly, wailing cries following it. "Ben!" She shouted out across the square as she ran towards the pinned being trying to pull the rock off herself. She felt as if her fingers were about to snap off as she lifted with all her power, until she felt the rock flying out of her hands.

Ebby felt her mouth fall open in shock as she turned her head to see the lanky man with his hands risen in the air as he used the Force to remove the rock and place it gently down to the side. “You can….” She stuttered. He ignored her, running towards Jessika and the small child she was pulling up

Jessika looked down at the small Rodian child who was looking up at her with wide starry eyes as it scrambled to its feet. The child was no older than four, it's blue green skin covered in grey ash, it looked from Jessika to Ben grateful and then in awe.

"Are you a Jedi?" It asked Ben as it looked at the silver hilt on his hip.

Ben gave a small nod as he got down on his knees to looking level in the eye with the child. "Yes." He replied softly. Jessika was already turning her head away looking though the ash and smoke to see anything else. "My name is Ben Solo." He was saying but Jessika wasn't paying attention to the Jedi introduction which she had heard the other man perform hundreds of times by now.

"There was a Jedi who was here." The Rodian said almost afraid.

Jessika turned her head back down to look at the child. "Don't worry, were going to stop her from hurting people. She raised up her head to look back at Finn who was tending to the wounded and bloody woman, she shifted her body so the small child didn’t have to see that. “What’s your name?” She said with a smile on her face, she was surprisingly good at being able to talk to children when it was called for.

The Rodian looked up at her, its eyes sparking in the sunlight. “Mat’ka.” She said in a small voice.

“Hi Mat’ka, my name is Jess.” She said as she looked the little girl in the eye before quickly turning her head to spot BB-8 and beckon the droid over. It rolled and hopped with the help of its cables towards them until it was next to the child who was only a few inches bigger than the droid itself. “This BB-8, he’s going to stay with you and make sure you are safe.”

But the droid had already gone to work, having small whizzing parts flying out of its many compartments, comically entertaining the child and drawing its attention away from the chaos that surrounded them all.

Jessika stood, placing her hands on her hips and looking around. When she spoke it was in a low voice out of the corner of her mouth. “So the kid and the woman,” She muttered to Ben. “Is that all who is left?”

He gave a small nod as they both began to step away from the child and back towards Ebby. “Was it Rey or her mother?” Jessika asked in her softest possible voice.

“I can’t tell anymore.” He said his voice breaking. Their presence was both so dark now, it hardly seemed as if there was a difference between them.

“Kriff.” Jessika said loudly as she looked around. Finn was attending to the woman, Poe appeared from around the corner and Jess pointed at the droid and young child behind them.

“Luckily there was a task force in the same system.” He said as he passed them both. “They should be here in a less than half an hour.”

“Thanks.” They both said with shaking heads. “I’m going to go see if I can find anything else important.” Jess added. She needed time and space to clear her head and not let her emotions get the better of her.

Ben walked back towards Ebby, looking at her with an embarrassed expression. “You’re a Jedi?” She breathed looking at the unmistakable weapon.

His face twitched. In his mind, he wasn’t a Jedi. The actions that he had taken as a teenager, losing himself in the shroud of Kylo Ren, there was nothing he could do to fully redeem himself and become a true Jedi. But nobody seemed to understand than logic as well as he and those closest to him did. “The mystery lessens.”

“Ummmm…..no it does not.” Ebby chirped as she placed her hands on her hips and shook her head, still trying to process what she had seen. She turned around in place, looking around at what was left of the town.

Then a speck of black caught her eye in the distance. “Do you see that?” She asked him as she pointed to where the sun was catching the black metal.

“What?” He asked, and then he saw it too. The distinct wings of a TIE fighter. “Ebby….” He said, caution riddling her voice. She pulled out her blaster, holding it by her side as she began to walk towards it. He followed after her, cursing her courage. “Ebby its likely a trap.” He hissed after her.

But she broke into a run, jumping over the piles of rubble towards the TIE fighter.

“Ebby what the kriff are you doing?” He called after her as she ran towards the ship. The eyes that looked back at him were made even wider with excitement and foolhardy surety that he had seen before.

The ship stood alone, but he could tell from the outside that one of its wings had been clipped in landing. Still there was no reason to leave it, if they were going to abandon the ship it would have been the smartest things to blow it up first.

Ebby was pulling herself into the small ship, pulling her googles down over her eyes and beginning to tap at the controls.

He shook his head in disbelief, never thinking he was ever going to be in a TIE fighter ever again in his life as he joined her, sitting at the gunner position behind her. “You’re going to have to compensate for that wing. And it’s doubtful that we can take it out of atmosphere.”

“You know how to fly at TIE fighter?” She scoffed at him in disbelief as she hit the power on the ship and it buzzed beneath the,

“ _You_ know how to fly a TIE Fighter?” He echoed back, the connotation clear between them both but unspoken as they lifted off.

“What frequency is your squad on?” Ebby asked as they accelerated rapidly away.

“64Delta9.” He said “What is your plan?”

“Follow the flight records back and see where it originated.” She replied as they rose up above the tree level, the ship miraculously evening out. “Danta Sqadron this is Corona Twelve do you copy?”

Poe responded. “Copy Corona Twelve.” He said in a hesitant voice.

“Good.” She snapped “Just to let you know Ben and I are in the TIE fighter that just took off. We are going to look for its origin point so please don’t shoot us.”

“Roger Corona Twelve.” Jess grumbled over the line “Please keep us informed of your movements.”

The ship kicked back once more as Ebby accelerated. He was tempted to shout out to her and tell her to watch what she was doing, but as soon as the ship tilted she corrected its course. She was muttering to herself, going through a checklist of flying the ship aloud as she continued to rise up into the air. He sat, seeing his own blank face reflected back to him in the window as he rested his hands on the gunnery controls.

“Do you have any navigation panels?” She called out to him. He jumped looking down at the controls at his hands and trying to determine.

“Um….. yes…. Yes, I do.” He said as he looked down at the panel before him. There was a read out of flight history, marking where the ship’s gun’s had been fired.

“Good.” She said in an energetic tone. “Can you be my navigator?” He gave a nod. “Ben?” She called out, unable to see any of his gestures.

“Yes I can.” He stammered as he began to call out coordinates to her.

She flew with the skill of someone who was familiar with the craft in their power. It made him question her even more. A girl from a boondock planet, who had only just joined in on the fight. Something she had said earlier was ringing in his mind. ‘It took my mother a long time to see the Empire for what it really was’ Just how long had Ebby’s mother been loyal to the Empire. Loyal enough to train her daughter how to fly a TIE, to have one hidden away in a shed somewhere herself.

He could see the mystery within her, the subtle conflict at finally being allowed to join the fight and the feeling that her past genealogy had somehow caused the fight to begin with. It was a similar affection which ran through himself, and it made him feel comfortable. Both of them making the choice to fight on the side of the angles, yet not be heroic to their very core.

They were soaring over the wet green lowlands which rose up into wildflower covered hills. In the distance there was the rise of a rocky white stone mountains, whose jagged sides opened way to small passageways between the mountains.

Ebby let out a small scoff. “I mean even if I wasn’t looking for an evil lair, it just screams it doesn’t it?”

He turned his head to see what she saw. He let out a chuckle in agreement. “I reckon making it through those gorges it what destroyed half of the wing in the first place.”

“You wanna bet?” She said sarcastically. “Are you picking up anything on the sensors. We’d have to fly up and over with no cover, it’s risky.”

He bit his lips at the irony. “You seem like a woman who likes taking risks.” He muttered to himself, even though he knew that Ebby heard it as well in the enclosed space. “Nothing on the sensors, but that doesn’t mean something isn’t there.  Ebby?” He asked cautiously, wanting to make her question her decisions but she was already pulling the ship high up above and accelerating.

The tops of the mountains were bare, only pointed stones rising up to reach the sky. She had to contently adjust the ship, which rocked back and forth as she stayed close to the peak of the mountains.

There was nothing on the scope and the ground beneath them began to slope downward, but he could feel it as the trees grew taller and thicker. The sickening feeling was spreading outward from his body, paralyzing him as he looked at the screen knowing that at any moment something was going to appear.

“Ben?” Ebby said gently as she approached, towards the hidden First Order camp, weary that he had not spoken for several minutes.

“We have to go back.” He breathed as he looked at the screen waiting for something to come, he could feel the warmth, the inviting ease of the Dark Side spreading towards him as she continued to fly faster and lower. “Ebby turn around!” He yelled as the forest bellow them cleared and gave way to a collection of dark First Order ships.

Somehow she had gotten the gunnery controls from him, and she was beginning to take aim letting the green lasers blast across the trees as she swooped down even lower to the troops spread out on the ground.

He could see from the swirling view outside the window the white uniforms of the Storm troopers all wait in a line, ready to make their way back to their ships. A lone figure stood out in the sea of white uniforms.

His heart sunk as he looked down at the woman standing in the field below surrounded by the troopers. "Ebby go!" He yelled at her back she was too filled with excitement, the possibility of firing on them to pay attention to his frantic tone.

“But I have a shot.” She called out

“Just go.” He yelled once more as he saw the woman looked up and glare at the ship.

Her dark hair was pulled back away from her head with a series of braids, making her round face seem more pointed. The long black clothes that she wore trailed off of her more like shreds of fabric wrapped around her body than any sort of formal garment. He had seen that face before looking up at him from a planet bellow. He looked down now and saw the child be had left of Jakku, screaming at him. But the woman who was screaming now was ordering for troops to kill him.

“But Ben I can-”

“DAMN IT EBBY JUST GO!” He screamed out, feeling the anger seep out of him with every syllable that he yelled at her.

They pulled away the shots from the ground forces became a comfortable distance between them but there were ships taking off in pursuit. He slammed his hand into the communication panel “The First Order is still on the planet.” He said frantically.

He had seen her, Rey. He had seen her since the first time since Coruscant. His worst fears had been confirmed, she had truly been lost to the Dark Side. All of his choices had been for nothing.

“Kriff.” Came a voice over the line.

“The Resistance is already here with med teams. Troops too.” Jess said rapidly “We can leave the fight to them.”

“In like a mynock out like a lamb” Ebby breathed. “That's what people say about Danta Squadron."

Jessika cursed over the line once more “Told you it was a trap.” Finn replied.

“I heading back to the ships.” Jessika said her voice becoming more clipped as she broke into a run mid-sentence.

“Is she here?” Poe asked in a gentle voice. He had been searching for Rey now far longer than he had known her.

"Yes.” Ben said crestfallen “But this isn't the time."

“I know” Poe replied sadly. “Divert them long enough for us to leave, and take them away from the Resistance, then meet us in strato. Do we need to take that X-wing?"

“Yes.” Ebby called out as she set her sights on the forest ahead.

“Good flying.” Poe called before the line died.

“Remember” Ben whispered in her ear as he looked at the rendering of the terrain ahead of them, knowing that she intended on causing a chase. “This thing doesn't have shields.”

“I’m aware.” She deadpanned as she accelerated the ship hard into the dense forest. He didn’t know what she meant by that but he was too occupied with focusing on the incoming fire behind him to ask.

His eyes darted across the screens as he watched the small readouts of the TIE’s fluttering by, five were in pursuit, but he gathered that many more would soon be as well. Ebby was doing a good job of dogging in and out of the trees, heading towards a meadow which lay beyond with a snaking river running through it. All they had to do was get them off their tail and make it out of the atmosphere of the planet, though neither of them mentioned how they would pull off the last trick with a wing and a half.

“Scramble the signals so they can’t follow us.” He said as he aimed and hit one of the TIE fighters in the direct center. It imploded in a ball of fire and crashed into a tree causing it to go up in flames with it.

“How do I do that.” She asked as she pulled up away from the tree line, rising high up in the sky. The TIE wobbled from side to side as she tried to up it upwards before she abandoned the attempt and skidded down into the meadow.

“Code T481A5” He snapped back.

He could hear her tapping at the controls. “I’m not going to ask how you know that.” She muttered snidely.

“I don’t need you to be cocky right now.” He snapped back at her as he took aim and got another one dead center. “Fly low it confuses them.”

“I am flying low.” She barked back at him. They were so low blades of grass were getting pulled up into the air vents.

She followed along the length of the river, it grew to a waterfall as another set of mountains rose up and the small valley came to an end. “Don’t you dare.” He called out as he looked over his shoulder, already guessing what reckless things she was going to do.

But Ebby didn’t respond as they accelerated towards the waterfall at full speed the three TIE fighters following after them. The ships were gaining on them as Ebby began to slow down to impulse speed, Ben continued firing as he considered his last words, fearing that she wouldn’t be able to save them in time.

“Ebbbbyyyy.” He called out her name in a hiss, as the side of the mountain was just meters away. All the sudden the power kicked in again as they ascended rapidly in the stream of the waterfall two of the TIE fighters crashing into the mountains side beneath them.

“WOOOO HOOOO.” She cried out in excitement as the ship steadied over the rising mountain.

“You are insane.” He breathed as he looked at the scope for the last remaining ship.

She let out a laugh. “Oh come on Solo, I though you would have been used to this kind of flying.” He said nothing in return as he looked for the last ship to rise up and meet them from behind.

The TIE cruised for a moment as they both waited, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to leave the last ship behind before they made their way into space.

“Danta Two, we are ready for your approach.” Called out Poe over the intercom.

“We will be with you momentarily.” Ebby responded as she turned the ship high up into the air and arched it back down. The last TIE fighter was just beginning to crest over the edge of the waterfall as she fired rapidly from the forward guns.

It burst into flames as she pulled up, the ship quivering as they attempted to break atmo. “Kriff.” Ebby called out as she struggled to break the bounds of gravity.

“Divert all gunnery power and extraneous computer systems to propulsion.” Ben called out, if there was one thing he was good at flying it was half broken ships. She tapped away at the controls, the small fighter finally getting enough power as it broken away into the darkness of space.

“Thanks” She whispered as they slowed to a casual pace. “Where do I go?” She asked. The airspace beyond the planet wasn’t void of ships, in fact there were many freighters and passenger ships making their approach to the planet, but she did not spot the slim S-wings anywhere.

He turned around in the seat the best he could, since he was no longer need on the guns. He felt her bristly hair rubbing up against his face. “That one.” He said pointing to a ship on the edge of the fray.

She frowned but followed his command and increased her approaching speed. The ship which he had pointed to was a large oblong shape, with a flattened cargo space in the back. Clearly custom built, it seemed more like someone’s pleasure ship than anything else.

“Danta Leader, this is us knocking.” Ben called out as the rear hatch opened out to space.

“In a moment Danta Two.” Called out Finn through their ears. “Follow BB.”

Ebby frowned once again wondering what he could possibly mean. And then she saw her X-wing drifting through space, the small head of the BB unit sitting in the droid port. It approached the opened back door, the ship easily fitting into the cargo hold. But a silver glimmer caught her eye before she pulled the TIE fighter in after it.

Ben’s S-wing was drifting to the side of the ship, flying of its own accord. It hung in the shadow of the larger ship, like an infant nerf to its mother. Then it lowered down and slid perfectly into a recessed slot along the side of the ship. Ebby blinked and noticed the other S-wings nestled in the side of the larger ship as well.

“Ebby.” Ben whispered in her ear, his voice calm and gentle once more. “We need to land.”

She nodded, coming back to her senses as she pulled the TIE fighter behind her X-wing. There was a level of protective plasma providing an airlocked barrier between them before the large door closed down with a loud band.

Ben opened up the hatch of the TIE fighter and helped her out of the ship as she saw BB-8 drop down from her X-wing give a chirp before rolling off. She looked around with wide eyes at the white and gold hull of the ship as she saw the Damerons approaching both of them.

“Where…” She began to breathe as she looked around.

“Welcome aboard the _Scoundrel_.” Ben said with a small smile on his face.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

“The _Scoundrel_?” Ebby breathed under her breath as she looked around as the shiny new interior of the ship. But before she could say anything else the small ball droid was at her feet, scanning her with an array of multi colored lights. “What’s it doing?” She asked as she frowned at the droid.

“Scanning you for any First Order, Imperial, Bounty Hunter, Hutt, Mandelorian et cetera tracking devices.” Ben said as he walked past the droid and gave it a curt salute.

It chirped at him happily and scuttled away satisfied with what it had found on her. “Are you always this paranoid or is it just me?” She said as she began to look around at the ship.

He shrugged. “We’ve been burned before.” He said as he began to walk away gesturing for her to follow him.

Jessika appeared from one of the many corridors, a scoff escaping her lips. “What is she doing here?” She spat as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Ebby with a twisted frown.

“Jess.” Poe warned as he crossed over to a panel on the wall, and punched in some information. There was a lurch as the ship entered hyperspace. Ebby looked around counting all the occupants, they were all standing in the cargo hold.

Finn noticed her lost expression. “The ship can be piloted from terminals located on all decks.” He explained to her as Jessika stomped off. “Congratulations you’re the first person to be on board other than us and the builders.” He wrapped an arm around her as he began to lead her down one of the corridors.

“What my husband means to stay is welcome.” Poe said with a wide grin as he brushed past them moving so that he was the one now leading them down the hallway as he walked rapidly backwards.

She looked between the two of them, both grinning at her as if she was to be a ravenous beasts’ dinner. She felt the words escape out of her mouth, “What are you going to do with me?” This was after all one of the most covert missions which she had run herself into.

“Well.” Poe said as a door to the side opened to reveal a large living space filled with a surprising amount of creature comforts. “First we have to learn about you.” He said as he sat down and gestured for her to do so as well.

She looked at them with wide eyes as the doors closed and she was alone in the room with the three men, her senses suddenly heightened. “Where are you from?” Ben asked her in a dry voice.

She was pulled into the push depths of the couch but she turned her torso to look at him. “I told you I am from nowhere important.” He looked at her, frustration crossing his face.

“Ben.” Poe said in a gentle whisper of warning. He turned back to Ebby, smiling once more, doing his best to make her feel comfortable. “You flew a TIE Fighter and you flew it well. Obviously we have questions.”

She straightened up, taking a shaky break as her felt her face redden. It was a trait that she hated, even with her darker complexion she still had inherited her pale faced father’s tendency to turn scarlet at a moment’s notice. “Like I told him.” She said in a small whisper. “My parents were both trained in Imperial Academies. I heard the tales of them flying TIE’s.”

“You said that your mother took a long time to see the Empire for what it really was.” Ben said in a questioning voice, interrogating her with sharp words. He paused, leaning forward as he looked into her eyes. “You’ve flown a TIE fighter before today.” He stated.

Ebby felt her whole body go rigid as the truth slipped out of his mouth. She wanted to open her mouth in retort but she was unable to do so. “Back off.” Finn said in a small scalding voice to Ben.

He gestured wildly. “But she has, I can tell.” He cried out like a child so certain of the truth. “We have to know what side she is on.”

“Look it’s not like I was raised worshiping what the Empire was.” Ebby cried out loudly. “My parents hardly ever talked about the war. Hell, I didn’t even know either of them was in it until I was ten. Even then my father only ever went on about his war buddies when he was drunk, and my mother… She was ashamed ok? Ashamed of what she was loyal to for all those years even though she could tell it wasn’t right. I don’t expect you to understand-” There were tears of frustration forming in the corners of her eyes.

“We do.”

Both Finn and Ben had said the words in unison. Ebby slipped back into the couch once more as she batted her eyes, embarrassed once more.

“Explain the TIE fighter.” Ben said softly, his rage controlled once more.

She inhaled, remembering the old ship which her parents had kept hidden away. They had both liked the challenge of flying such a craft. Even then, it only saw the sunlight once or twice a cycle and she had only taken it to the skies twice. “It was an old ship. My parents had salvaged it, repaired it. The only people who ever knew or saw it were me and my siblings.”

They all gave a subtle nod. And Ebby looked at them, her own eyes filled with questions. But it was Finn who spoke first. “You said you grew up on an isolated planet.” His eyes darted towards Ben and then back to her. “When did you first hear about the Resistance?”

She leaned back in thought, trying to remember just how long ago it had been. “Uh… it was my elder sister. She set off with this crew in a ship, first time she came back home she was talking about how there was group trying to bring back the Empire, the First Order, and how the Resistance was stopping them. That was…. Two years ago. I wanted to join up, but my parents didn’t like us to leave the planet, which is stupid because they weren’t from there in the first place.”

“Two years.” Ben repeated

“Yeah.” She breathed.

A strange expression ran across his face, as if for a moment there was something which he didn’t have to tell her. “What do you know about me?” He asked

Ebby laughed. “Um… what you have told me. That your name is Ben Solo and apparently you’re a Jedi.”

“Do you know who Darth Vader was?” He asked her and both Finn and Poe shifted on their feet uncomfortably

“Uh, everyone does. He is the nightmare in every bedtime story, and even if I didn’t…”

“He was my grandfather you know.” Ben said in a small voice.

She nodded. “I figured that one out myself.” She replied wondering why he was acting so strange.

“Do you know who Kylo Ren was?” He asked, his face blank of all emotion.

She laughed to give herself courage. “He was some Darth Vader wannabe who destroyed a few villages and planets. Just like whoever that woman we saw was. He died at the Battle of Coruscant, everyone knows that.”

Ben shook his head. “I was Kylo Ren.”

Her face fell slack. Suddenly all thoughts and ideas were clear out of her head as she looked at those before her.  She blinked, thinking that perhaps this was a dream, or a mistake. That she was back home, or back on some Resistance base. “Ebby?” He called out gently as he reached across and took a hold of her hand.

She thought for a moment to take it away, to withdraw herself and scold him, curse at him even but she looked up into his swimming eyes. There was a sadness in them, a despair, the guilt at his own actions. She took a breath and steadied herself, even though her mind was racing with unimaginable ideas.

She didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t understand the trajectory his life had taken. She had grown up on hearing the stories of guilt over things that had happened during the war, but his candor on telling her. The looked in his eyes as he clutched gently on her hand to make sure that she was alright.

Her eyes shifted for the first time at the two other men who were standing behind him. They were looking at her calmly, yet still curious to see how she would react. They knew the truth of the words he was saying, they knew parts of the story that she would likely never hear. They were looking at her with kindness and thoughts ran through her head.

She had joined the Resistance because she wanted to fight, because she had heard the stories about how the Empire had gone around decimating cultures and causing more harm than good. She had wanted to contribute in keeping the freedom the generation before her had gained, she had wanted to get out and see some of the galaxy as well, she hadn’t expected to learn so many secrets though.

“Ebby, say something.” He said in a soft voice.

She blinked, feeling her face change as she looked at him. “Why are you telling me this?” She said her small voice riddled with uncertainty.

There was a scuffling of feet and a cough as he inhaled. “Because it’s the truth. And the truth is meant to be told.”

She gave a small sneer. “What about the rest of the universe?”

“You ask the tough questions don’t you?”

“I guess I do.” She replied in a small whisper.

He let go of her hand, leaning back and looking at her with half a curious smile. “In time the truth always finds its way out. But for now…”

“Your lying.” She interrupted him

He tensed as he looked at her, trying to remember than he had only known her for the span of a few hours. “What do you honestly think is the wisest choice right now? Should I go post a video on the holo-net explaining to the universe at large the crimes I committed? How I destroyed villages, planets, how I tortured people for information, how I spread a corrupt ideology or how I killed my own father? Should I do that Ebby? Ebby Kyrell, should I do that?”

She leaned towards him. “I didn’t tell you my last name.” She said in a small voice.

He scoffed. “I can figure it out, that’s what I do.” He paused looking deep into her honey colored eyes. “You’re scared.” He stated as he looked at her.

She nodded slowly as she maintained her eye contact with him. She was afraid, but she was brave as well. “You’re scared too.” She said softly.

“You didn’t answer the question.” He said as he leaned towards her. “Do you want to hold the camera as I tell the universe the truth?”

She could fell the bones in her knees pressing down into her thighs as she leaned forward, unwilling to break eye contact as she stared at the man before her so intently. “They’d tare you apart.” She said gently. “First with words and slander that would stay embedded in your brain at every waking moment, that would turn into nightmares. And then they would come after you. An _unimaginable_ bounty would be placed on your head, not just that but how many other thousands, millions of other people would personally want to kill you with their bare hands. You haven’t done enough to become a hero in the right eyes.”

“And I never will.” He said his words catching in his throat. “And there is no one in the universe who wants me dead more than myself.” He paused watching as her eyes widened. Listening as Finn and Poe listened to his words with their own uncertainties in the man whom they had placed their own trust in.

“It’s a little bit scary when the idea of killing yourself begins to make sense. As if somehow it would be the answer to all your problems. A final way of getting back at those who make you angry or feel worthless. The last great insult, that maybe it is the only way of making them understand how pathetic their words have made you feel.

“Not even that, it’s how pathetic you have made yourself feel.” He paused, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “My actions haunt me with every waking moment, they are always there beneath the surface, never truly forgotten always ready to inhibit my thoughts. And I know that death is the only way I will ever get a slim chance of being free from them. I could kill myself and it would all be over. But it's not like I'm going to do it. I’m not afraid do what awaits me, when, if, I dissolved into the Force. What bothers me is that I know how my mother would wail, I know how I would be painted as something that I might not be, that I wouldn’t really make much of a point at all in taking my own life. But it is terrifying when the thought just casually pops up in your mind.”

Ebby looked at Ben, her eyes resolute. “You’re never going to be the hero.” She said in a steely voice. “But you can still do something heroic.”

He laughed, his head tilting back as a raucous laugh escaped his mouth as he looked at Ebby. Maybe his uncle has sent her, at of everyone else for a reason. There was a kindredness in their sensibilities. “I keep telling myself that.” He said as he stood up, knowing that as much as he wouldn’t mind continuing to talk with her there were other things to do on the ship.

She looked up at him with a wide grin. “I’ll keep reminding you.” She shrugged.

**

She was so tiered of working hard. Of doing everything that she could, of helping everyone else when no one was helping her. Or at least… she knew there were people helping her, but it didn’t feel that way. It felt as if she was alone on the ledge trying to pull everyone else up when she herself was slipping. She wanted some gratitude, and she felt horrible for such a selfish thought to run across her mind but it did. She deserved gratitude, more than just a few words muttered out of courtesy she wanted someone to do something kind for her without a holiday to mark it. Jessika felt so alone, even though she was surrounded by others.

She wanted someone to love her unconditionally, to always smile when they saw her. She wanted Rey, but that was impossible.

She could feel the trail of the tear drops running down from the inner corner of her eyes, cresting down and around her checks and slowly traveling to the spot beneath her chin where the parallel paths met and the salty tear would eventually fall onto her chest. She wanted to stop crying, she wanted to not feel this way but it seemed impossible.

There was a soft beep as an orange and white head appeared in the opening to her quarters. She gave a small nod and the droid came toward her, circling towards her feet, resting its head gently against her leg before she bent down to pick it up and hug onto it tightly as if she were a child clutching onto her favorite toy.

It purred and vibrated gently against her body, the electoral pulses giving it the sense as if it were alive. It was comforting the strange mechanical thing in her arm with a fake intelligence. Then again everything in her life was strange. She held on tighter to the droid as it cooed gently, she closed her eyes trying to imagine it was something other than cold metal in her arms.

“Jess.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at Poe standing in the doorway his arms pulled tightly across his chest. He wasn’t judging her in anyway, but his face seemed hollow and more less alive than the images of the man she had met all those years ago. He stepped into the room looking down at the floor, knowing that what he had to say was uncomfortable. “He saw her.”

She felt her heart sink. Knowing that Rey was alive was supposed to make her feel better. But it hardly did. No matter how much she told herself that the person whom the woman she loved had become was not who she really was the evidence was mounting for the prosecution. It had been three years, Rey wasn’t going to wake up and change her mind.

“And?” Jessika breathed, feeling the hope slip away from her mind as she looked at the downcast face of the man before her. His hair had grown even longer and scragglier than it once was. His facial hair was unkempt. The time spent in the Danta Squadron had changed him as well. And out of all of the Finn and Poe were easily he ones whose lives were going the best.

“She ordered her men to fire.”

“Maybe she didn’t know it was them” Jessika muttered trying to make her own hope as Poe shook his head.

“They were in a TIE fighter, and she saw him.” He said sharply, crushing her hopes swiftly. “They can always tell when they are in the presence of one another.”

She let out a soft grunt, as she gave BB-8 one last squeeze and then placed him on the ground. “What about our new lost soul?” She said in reference to the woman whom Jessika was still unsure of her name.

“Hey.” He began in defense. “You were once a lost soul, too.” There had been so many in the years between the wars whom had been picked up as an apprentice or accolade of the late Capitan Solo. It was as if he scoured the far reaches of the universe for young kids with a talent for flying, and took them under his wing. Teaching them whatever he knew about everything possible before their wings spread far enough on their own. Jessika new she wasn’t the only person in the universe whom Han Solo had mentored, half of the first wave Resistance pilots came from the same backstory. But she was one of the last.

She shook her head making a face at him. “You know what I mean.” She sneered as she saw the lovable droid roll back towards its owner.

“Ebby seems all right.” He said as he uncrossed his arms and took a step towards her. “She’s more than capable of handling her own in a fight. And she appeared to be knowledgeable even, about things that might come in hand.”

“Yeah but do you trust her?” Jess snapped.

“Ben does.” He shrugged. “And she trusts him.” He paused to see her eyebrow raise. “He told her Jess. He told her about who he once was and she still trusts him.” The words settled into effect as Jessika looked beyond him at the gleaming corridors of _The_ _Scoundrel_.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Do we have any form of a plan?” She breathed. “Any sliver of an idea about what to do now?”

His head shook once. “But we will.” He said resolutely.

**

She was familiar with the layout of the ship. She had spent most of her life inside of a Star Destroyer, she knew its secrets. 

“Ma’am there are many Resistance ships leaving this sector. Should we intercept?”

“Let them go.” Rey whispered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ma’am.” The shrill voice of Capitan Phasma was ringing in her ears as the woman’s posture shifted to a taller stance, her armor echoing her movements. “Is that wise.”

Rey looked up at her with an empty glance as she muttered out of the corner of her mouth to the man sitting down at controls. “Are the tractor beacons placed on the survivors active?” She asked.

He swallowed his eyes fearful as he nodded. “Yes, responding clearly.”

“Good.” She said still maintaining eye contact with the woman behind the mask. “Question me again and you will no longer have a position within the First Order.” She said as she looked at the figure towering over her begin to shake with anger.

Anger was all she seemed to fell these days, it flowed through her like a river since the day on Coruscant. The day she stopped being the timid girl she once had been. The first thing her mother had done was take her not up into the skies, and the safety of the First Order fleet but to take her bellow the depths of the city themselves.

There far down below the Jedi temple was a beating heart of darkness. The remained of the elder Sith shrine which had been seeping up and corrupting those above it for generations. Few had even known that it had existed and Rey could feel the embrace of passion enveloping her as she looked at the ruins of what once was.

It was there where her mother had told her about nearly everything. Answering her questions of how she had once been loyal not to the Empire but to her master, Darth Vader. She spoke at length of the strength of the man who taught her the ways of the force, who commanded his powers to conquer and destroy. But what Amara told her that intrigued her most of all, was the contempt that was within Vader. Not his anger towards the Jedi who had made foolish mistakes and pushed him down the path of the Dark Side, not at those who didn’t obey him but towards the Master who control him.

Amara for nearly all her formative years had been the hand of Vader, she had been his protégé who over time came to understand the control and influence that the Emperor had over Vader. The tests of loyalty were constant, the mind games and loaded inferences common. The Emperor had promised his freedom and the ability to save those whom he loved, but Vader had little more freedom than when he had been a slave on Tattoine.  

Vader had trained her so that one day they could overthrow the Emperor together. She had almost been cast aside when he had learned that Luke had lived, but she had proven her worth. But in the end the dreams which the man in the mask confided to her never came true and Amara was left standing suddenly a captive rather than a conquer.

She had promised Rey in the shadow of the dark light from the ancient Sith source that they would never been like that. That she would never treat her daughter in the way that the Emperor had done with Vader, that she would never view her as weak and unprepared like Kylo Ren was. 

Rey had been given her own ship, she had been given her own troops as she sat fit. She was left the conquer and rule the galaxy as she wanted, but it wasn’t as easy as she had assumed. The world was in rebellion against her, and it seemed that for every Resistance faction that she conquered three more appeared in its place.

She made her way through the corridors of the Star Destroyer, soldiers and officers getting out of her way as she did so. She was used to the layout of these ships, she had spent over a decade tearing them apart, sometimes she saw it all as wreckage rather than what was really in front of her. She made her way to her personal cabin.

It was a stark room with little in the way of comforts but it was hers, and it was more secure than the leg of an imperial walker. As the door closed behind her she felt herself become awash in relief of being way from all the people who expected her to lead them. She had spent all of her life fending for herself, sometimes she didn’t even want to be bothered by the thoughts of others who were just looking for a way to stay alive.

She sat down upon the low hard chair and pressed a button on the wall control panel, the opposite side wall springing into life as a holo screen. The woman before her presented herself as who she was, there was no hiding behind a mask or a false image when she spoke directly to Rey.

“Yes my child.” She said in a voice that was soft and sincere, not at all sickly or cloying as some might have used.

“The mission was successful.” Rey said as she felt her shoulders roll back, her posture becoming more proper and upright even though she had been told repeatedly by her mother that they did not have the same type of relationship that the men who tried to rule the Empire before them had.

Her mother tilted her head to the side, reading through the Force the implications which were not spoken. “There is something else.” She said in a soft melodic voice.

Rey looked down at her feet. Feeling the anger within her, the anger that was all which fed her actions these days. She had cast aside every thought of the life she had once known; of all the emotions she had once had. She had power now in more ways than one. Every thought, every command she wanted to see followed through was. She had called on soldiers to fire on her cousin, and they had, they had made a valiant pursuit but part of her was glad he had survived.

“He was there.” Her mother spoke with soft words. “Kylo Ren was among the Resistance party.” Amara still called him by the old name, but in Rey’s mind she thought of him as Ben.

Rey nodded. “He got away. Someone was helping him they were in an TIE fighter.”

The woman before her was emotionless. “Do you know who it was?” She asked, but her meaning was different. Her mother had told her what was to be expected if she ran into her old friends before. She still didn’t know if the anger which flowed through her would be enough to help her kill Poe, Finn or… Jessika.

She looked down at her left hand, it had been replaced years ago with a synthskin prosthesis. The internal arrangement a configuration of what she had designed. It looked real, most people assumed it was but she knew the truth. “No I don’t know who it was.” She admitted truthfully.

Rey met her mother’s eyes. There was a mothers love in them, but behind that was the determination of a woman who was occupied rebuilding her empire. She gave a small nod of acceptance. “Do you want to go after them?” Her question was a test.

Rey shook her head. “No,” She whispered. “There are more important things to be done.”

“Good.” Amara replied. Then a small smile formed across her lips. A smile which she knew to be similar to the knowing grin once worn by the Emperor. “In time they will come to you.”   She said before the transmission ended.


	22. Chapter 22

She felt the ship dock with a gentle thud. Ebby was curious as to where they were. She wasn’t even sure of which system they were in, even though she had spent the greater portion of the trip inside of the small room staring at star charts. She knew it didn’t really matter where in space they were, it was all part of their mission, part of what they were supposed to be doing. Still she was nervous as she made her way from the small cabin which had been hers during their few hours in hyperspace back to the common area.

Jess was sitting on the back of a chair, fiddling with the trigger of a blaster. Finn and Poe were bent over the small droid making some changed to it, Ben was tapping away at a data pad. Only Jess looked up and gave her a dark glare as she entered before returning her gaze to the blaster.

“Where are we?” Ebby asked, she could feel the ship being pulled through a series of channels the hissing and opening of several different types of airlocks they were passing through.

“Space station.” Jess muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

She did her best not to roll her eyes. “Which space station?” On most ships, she expected the crew would be running around in a frenzy on the landing approach, but this was not a normal crew, she knew that clearly by now. They weren’t even in the cockpit or manning any sort of controls unless Ben was doing it from his Data pad.

 “It doesn’t matter.” She rose her head to look at Ebby again. “You need to change.” She added as she looked at the woman in the Resistance flight suit. “Follow me.” She added as she jumped down and began walking as briskly as possible.

Ebby looked down at the orange and white she wore, the outfit which easily marked her to an affiliation. She wanted to ask if they were docking in a friendly space station, but she said nothing else as she followed her. The door to Jessika’s room opened, Ebby spotted pictures on the wall of what she could only assume was her family. there were pennants from flying competitions, banners from different towns and cities. She could only assume they all had some value, but Ebby was too afraid to even attempt to ask.

Jess opened the door to a large closet filled with over a dozen different disguises and costumes. Ebby could have even sworn there was a First Order flight suit. But as Jessika tossed her a green mechanics jumpsuit, a canvas bag and a hooded overcoat before leaving she didn’t dare look again.

“Hurry up and meet us.” She snapped as the door slid shut behind her. Ebby was finding it difficult from what she had heard about the pilot that she had ever been a pleasant person.

She ran back through the corridors to her room, changing her clothes and placing the few vital things she carried on herself in the bag. Less than two minutes after leaving she reentered the common space. Everyone else was putting on heavy coats over their own clothes, and pulling up hoods. Jessika looked nervous, but Ben looked ever more so.

“Alright.” He breathed as he clutched onto the data pad in his hands. “This is what we have spent the past three years preparing for.” Ebby felt her heart flutter was this was the rescue mission, so soon after what they had just seen. But Ben continued before she could ask any questions. “I don’t know how long after we hand off this data to our contact that the shit will hit the rotators. But I wouldn’t give us a large window of time. Jess what are you doing?”

“Getting the X-wing and your ship off and then leaving in the _Scoundrel_.” She said her voice confident and filled with determination rather than hate.

Ben nodded. “I would take that TIE to a base, and fixing it up will be useful.”

“Risky.” Jess corrected him.

“Then take it to a Republic shipyard. We have their official support, just convince them not to shoot you down first.” He turned to the other two men. “You two, our contact will have arranged passage for off the station.”

Finn shifted uncomfortably. “But I thought, we were going with Jess.”

“It’s a sign of trust, I need you to follow the Bothans.”

“ _Bothans_?” Ebby said exasperatedly.

Ben turned to her, “Yes.” He replied curtly.

“As in the Bothan Spy network?” She added.

She had no idea how patient he was being with her. “It’s the best way to get out this sensitive information and not indicted anyone within the Resistance.” He replied.

Her lips parted, she wanted to ask the question, she knew that she needed to in order to not be a liability. “What information are you passing to them?”

His clutch on the Data pad grew stronger. As he looked around the room. “The true identity of leader Snoke.” He exhaled in a firm whisper.

She felt the ground shift beneath them, she was sure it had been the ship making its final docking. For years, the Resistance had been bringing light to the question, but it had never been answered. “Oh.” Was all that escaped her lips in reply. The landing gear had come down and the ramp was being lowered. They all reached up and raised up their hoods, Ebby following suit.

Poe lead the way out of the ship, Finn following close behind him as they walked into the scaffold filled landing space. The unknown space station looked more like it had never been completed and yet it showed signs of life. Stains embedded into the floors, half burned out lights flickering overhead, a stench of a hundred-different species which had developed after decades.

The ramp closed behind them and Ebby felt a hand placed on her shoulder. “Stay with me.” Ben whispered in his ear. As he led her through the layers of the landing and out into the makeshift streets of the station.

Most space stations looked little different from planets, they had artificial climates and automated daylights. Some even had gardens and farming space, but this one was different. It was as if all the lower levels of Coruscant had been condensed. There was no light or green, it was just dark corners and yelling merchants over the sounds of ignored crimes.

Finn and Poe were leading them, their faces uncovered. Ebby could barely see the hood was so big over her head. She looked down at the sea of feet visible from underneath the cowl, twenty different shades of dark colors and weaponry was all she was able to see of the station. Ben handed her something, a small in ear communication device which she reached up and placed it in her ear, the whispers of the others becoming clear.

“What does our contact look like?” Finn was asking as he did his best not to look around.

“Not sure,” Ben replied. “We are just supposed to head down Rishi lane, next right” He said and Ebby raised her head to see the very faint outlines of possible created streets and alleyways.

“It’s nearly two hundred meters long, that’s not exactly helpful.” Poe replied.

“That’s the beauty of the Bothan spy network,” Ben muttered.  “They see you first.”

“Have you ever seen a Bothan?” Ebby whispered under her breath as she felt her body being tugged to the right.

“No.” They all replied in unison. “And most who work with them don’t.” Ben added. “That’s why they are so famed.”

She snorted. “They are also famous for working both sides of every war ever known.” It was true, but no one said anything to correct her as they began to walk down the street at such a slow pace that people were brushing past them and cursing them.

Ebby herself wasn’t even sure what Bothan’s were supposed to look like, other than she thought they had fur. But she could have been wrong.

“Up ahead.” Poe muttered and they stopped, all looking forward as they spotted the figure moving through the crowd towards them.

It was in fact an actual Bothan. As a species, they were not particular tall, and the head of this one skimmed over few others. But its long, golden fur gently curled and catching in every light was impossible to miss. The creature gave a distinct nod of recognition as they stood breathless. Then it began to slip through the crowd and behind the stalls.

It was a hard to follow as they did their best not to frantically follow after the creature, but it was waiting for them alongside the back alley at the side of a gambling den and cantina. “Dameron, Dameron.” He said in reference to the men who followed him into the den. The neon lights cut through the smoke of spice, the smell of heavy perfume attempting to cover up the stenches of things far more deplorable. They were lead into a small back room. A sabacc table and a dealer siting in wait, he left at the sight of the Bothan.

“And Solo and Pava I presume.” Ebby let down her hood and the Bothan’s fur ruffled in disappointment.

“Change of plans.” Poe replied.

The creature stooped down slightly to look at Ebby. “A new face.”

Its brilliant blue eyes were looking at her as if they were a scanner, it stretched out a gloved paw. “Ebby Kyrell.” She said in introduction of herself, mesmerized by its gentle and yet primitive face.

It stood to full height and looked at Ben. “The data.” It said in a booming voice.

He reached into the folds of his outfit and withdrew the Data pad. He clutched onto it as if it was a precious gem. He sighed and then stretched out his arm. “Just be careful.” He whispered as he transferred over the evidence that he had worked years to gather.

“Boy,” The creature called out in a booming voice. “I have been doing this since before you were born.” It said in a half condescending manner.

“Well,” Part of him was fighting the urge to say something cocky. “Thanks for the help.” He replied earnestly. And then cocked his head indicating that it was time for the rest of the Danta squadron and Ebby to leave.

“Oh and Solo,” The creature called out as it placed the data pad into the folds of its tunic. Ben turned around to look at the creature with the long hair. “We have information about you too.”

For a moment he looked as if he had been hit with a stun beam, then he chuckled. “I expect nothing less.” He chirped.

“Docking bay 86, passcode Mothma.” The Bothan replied in reference to the transport awaiting Finn and Poe. The creature left through the same door as the sabacc player as the second door opened behind them and a small blue Rodian appeared to show them out.

They followed the creature out of the den, hardly able to see their own way through the haze. Stepping out into the artificial night time beyond was a relief as the air cleared and they could finally breathe comfortably once more.

Ben began to pull at Ebby’s hand to take her back the same way in which they had come but the Rodian shook its head. “They will have seen you.” He said in a soft voice as he began to lead them down another twisting set of corridors.

They felt lost as they pushed through the throng of creatures in the winding and narrowing streets. They were all doing their best not to look over their shoulders as their fingertips were a brush away from their weapons. The space station in question was a lawless place, but it didn’t mean that they’re weren’t sympathizers for both sides all around them.

The ground was sloping up around them and becoming narrower as they entered an area of the station which appeared to be designated for manufacturing. The steam values hissed as they walked by, almost everyone passing them seemed to be in the same sort of coveralls a uniform for whatever the plant was. But they paid the Rodian and his four human companions no mind as they slinked by.

The Rodian was leading them though the levels, not deeper into the faculty but rather outwards. The docking they were heading towards wasn’t part of the commercial landing area. Through the glimpses in the steel structure they ran by they could see the stars beyond. They were running now the only thing at the end of the corridor a lone door which was part of an air lock.

“We have a problem.” Came the soft whispers of Jessika in their ears. “The First Order is here. I have to take off.”

“How the hell did they find us this fast.” Poe cursed loudly as he looked over his shoulder, he could hear the sound of feet pounding towards them. They hadn’t done enough to disguise themselves, they thought they would have more time than this.

“The TIE fighter in the hold I presume.” Jessika muttered, but her voice was distant distracted, she was clearly taking off flying the ship.

“We disabled everything.” Ben yelled as he turned around to see the white masks of Stormtroopers.

There was a pause in the conversation as Finn turned around on the spot, pulling out a blaster from the folds of his jacket and taking three careful shots. He knocked three troopers down but more were still coming.

Poe was closest to the door. “Mothma, mothma, mothma” He yelled at it until it slid open to reveal a docking ram. “Come on.” He yelled at Finn as they all continued running.

“You’ve seen what she can create, what are the chances that she updated their tracking.” Jessika muttered in their ears again. “I’m jumping; I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.” She added and the line went dead.

They were still running towards the door of the unknown space craft stopping along the way to fire behind them. At the increasing white cloud which was chasing after them. The landing ramp was extended into a double airlock. Finn and Poe each took over behind the sides of the door opening. As Ben and Ebby followed them into the space after them.

“You need to-”

Zap, zap thud. The Rodian fell to the floor dead on impact. Ebby looked down beginning to shake she had seen more dead bodied in the last few hours than she had imagined seeing in a lifetime.

“Ben go.” Finn yelled at him as he fired off another round into the corridor. He looked at Poe. “We’ll find another way off. Just go.”

He didn’t need telling twice. He was halfway up the ramp, he turned back raising his hand and causing the nearest troopers to fall to the ground.

“That was stupid of you.” Poe yelled at he shot at those on the ground for good measure making sure the news of a Jedi didn’t get back to the wrong hands.

“Ebby come on.” He reached out his hand pulling her into the ship. She fired off a few shots as he fiddled with the door controls until it shut behind them, followed by the sounds of blaster fire like rain on the door. “Cockpit.” He yelled.

The unknown type of ship was narrow and small. Meant to take a small crew from one place to another and nothing else. She followed him along the hall to the pointed cockpit.  He pointed at the navigation seat and she sat, noticing how her hands were shaking on the dash. He was still standing, tapping away at the controls high overhead.

“Were going to have to jump as soon as we pull away.” He said as he hit a few more buttons.

“Where to?”

“Depends.” He said as he shook his head, he was talking rapidly as he focused on the unknown ship at their command. “Where are we?” he asked

Ebby reached down and powered up the navi-computer. “The Manda System?” She said unsure of how to correctly pronounce the word.

He looked over her shoulder and shook his head. “We need as far of a jump as possible. We need to spend as much time in hyperspace as we can so we can check over the ship and see if it is clean.”

“I thought there was a rendezvous point?”

“There is.” He replied as he sat down, he tapped at the controls and the engine sprang to life under them. The sound of blaster fire was beginning to dim, but it didn’t ease their anxieties. “But we don’t need to go there right away. Can you do that?”

She looked down at her shaking hands. “I think so, I don’t think I have ever jumped without an astromech though.” She tapped at the options on the screen before her. Selecting the most comfortably long distance she felt safe with and waiting as the course was planned.

He let out a scoff. “I haven’t much either. But my father taught me how to do it. And if we fail he will be haunting me in my dreams more than usual.” He looked over at the screen. “Good?”

The light turned green. “Clear to jump.”

“Disengaging” He muttered as they pulled away from the station. They’re were ships already closing in on them, impossibly close First Order ships. They were beginning to fire. “Jump!” he yelled.

Ebby tapped at the controls and their bodies were kicked back with the force of propulsion as swirling vortex of hyperspace surrounded them

**

Finn was continuing to fire the mass of Stormtroopers becoming a pile of bodies in the corridor. There had been a time and place when he used to worry about if he knew the men and women behind the masks. But those weren’t thoughts which concerned him anymore. He looked over at Poe from time to time, but the other man’s face was focused on firing as well.

The bodies continued to pile up until the sound of running boots had stopped. They leaned against the sides of the wall looking out at the airlock and the empty space beyond. The only comfort that some of them had escaped filled their adrenaline riddled bodies.

“You good?” Poe whispered as he looked across at his husband.

Finn nodded. Slowly he peeked out from behind their cover. The body of the Rodian was between them and the pile of Stormtroopers. “Pick a set of armor and make our escape?” Finn suggested. It was a tried and tested plan that they had done more than a few dozen times over the years.

They stepped into the corridor, still with weapons drawn as they approached them pile. There was a sound of scuttling feet, and both men jumped down to lie flat on their backs as they heard a small voice called out in a pinched and distorted voice. “They just blasted away in a cargo ship.”

Poe turned his head to look at Finn, raising his eye brow in intrigue. The ship which Ben and Ebby had taken off in was far too small to be a cargo ship. Weapons first they rose up to their knees seeing nothing but the pile of bodies. But a whistle rang though the air, in a sound imitating that a droid would make.

They stood even taller seeing the long fur covered ears of a Kushiban, an animalistic creature which looked more like a rabbit. It looked up at them with wide round eyes, as its ears twitched beckoning them to come forward. They made their way over the pile of Stormtroopers. Looking at it hesitantly, wondering if they should first clean up the mess before they left.

“Come on.” The creature said in a high and clear voice. “Someone else will take care of it. But you need to hide until you can get a way off the station.” The Kushiban said nothing else as it led them back out of the factory. Once again, the workers paid no attention. But they did not follow the same route that they had taken while following the Rodian. They went upwards through a series of lifts, doubling back several times and stopping once before they left the center completely.

The white Kushiban pointed to a small closet. Inside there were a variety of the same jumpsuits which the workers were using. The men went inside and changed quickly into the coveralls, each grabbing a brimmed cap to pull down over their heads.

Outside in the streets of Manda station the Kushiban, a species rarely seen outside of their own planet was of more interest than the two workers who followed closely behind it. The looks of onlookers created a path which they could easily following through the crowd down to the second level of the station where they stopped in front of a row of cantinas and seedy pawn shops with apartments and rooms to rent overhead.

The creature made its way to the storefront of an arms building, casually leaning up against the glass front as if peering inside. “Room 26, paid through for the next week.” It muttered casually out of the corner of its mouth before it made a decisive sigh and stepped into the store.

Finn and Poe looked at the grungy staircase which lead to the rooms above and said nothing as they mounted the stairs and found the door to room 26 currently unlocked. They stepped inside, setting up a passcode on the panel on the opposite side of the door. Inside the one room there was a bed, a small table, a little kitchenette and a fresher. Finn sat down at the table removing his hat while Poe flung his bag on a bed and took three steps to the windows to close the blinds.

“Alright.” He said as he turned to face Finn his face a glow in the false lights of the neon storefronts coming in through the slotted blinds.  “How do we get off of here?”

Finn sighed. “We’ll wait and contact someone when it is safe.”

Poe nodded knowing it was the answer. The sky was beginning to artificially darken outside signaling night. “They probably already got us on scans.” He said as he walked over to the bag which he had thrown on the bed and produced a small razor. “We need to change up our look.” He added as he made his way to the small basin and mirror at the side of the room and began to shave.

Finn watched with silent admiration as he saw the beard disappear knowing that when he was done it was the own hair on his head that would be taken next. It wasn’t much, but it was surprising how much a simple change could confuse other species which thought all humans looked the same. Poe turned around and smiled, he looked not much older than a child with his newly shaven face, even though there were swirls of grey in his hair. Finn took the razor next and shaved his head clean.

They sat down together on the bed, tiered and knowing they would work best in the morning after some time had passed. They laid down spooning one another as the sounds of the night grew louder. “At least we got the information exchanged.” Finn said into the darkness of the room.

Poe reached around and grabbed his hand, intertwining his fingers. “At least we are still together.” He replied.

**

Love had been forbidden in the old Jedi order, attachments were more nuanced the ways she followed now but passion was at the heart of the teachings. She still had a passion in her heart towards Jessika Pava.

Rey sat in her room looking at the holo display, the ship leaving the space station and jumping away as it was slowly surrounded by TIE’s. She didn’t recognize the ship, a newer model customized beyond any clear recognition. But she could sense who was flying the ship even though none of the scans showed the pilot on them. It was Jessika behind the controls, running away from her.

She wanted to bring the woman closer to her, but with every step Jessika moved further and further away. She still believed in the Resistance, which was a flawed vision for the galaxy. Why couldn’t she convince her, why couldn’t she make her realize that she was believing in something that would never succeed.

In the years that had passed, every step Rey had ever taken to get back to the woman she cared for had been met with a step backwards. Jessika had run away from her, she had chosen her side in the war but she had placed that before any affection she might have had for the other woman. Now she watched the holo again, looking at the ship flying away from the station, reading the reports of rebel activity which was coming in. Another day had passed as Jessika had chosen her side and walked further down the path. Looking at it made her angry, made her sad.

They would meet eventually, Rey was sure of that. The galaxy was large but wars always seemed so confined. She knew the day would come, she knew Jessika would try to see some goodness in her and trick her into going to the other side. It was futile, she knew who she was now, more than she ever had before. All she could do was plan how to bring Jessika to her side, and wait for the day they would meet.

**

After ten minutes Jess finally felt her hands settle into stillness. There was nothing she could do in the swirls of hyperspace other that wait to see if she had been followed by any other ships. But she knew that there was something that needed to be done about the TIE fighter in the cargo hold. As much as she wanted to fling it out into space she knew it was more valuable to the Resistance if it could be repaired for later use.

She made her way to the cockpit. It was a large and spacious room with several different terminals and a large viewport though everything could be controlled from the main pilots chair it had been designed with the hope that one day there would be five of them at the helm of the ship.

She pressed a button and a small holo screen came to life. Her amount of communications was severally limited to just a line back to Resistance control.

“Control this is Danta Leader.” She called out in a whisper even though it was just here and BB-8 on the ship.

“Go ahead Danta Leader.” Came back the reply.

“The mission was successful but out escape was comprised by a marked TIE in the hold of the _Scoundrel_. I need someone who can scrub it clean.”

There was the distinct sounds of keys being tapped at on the other end of the line. And then she saw coordinates pop up on the screen. “Head to this marking on Corellia, the operative will be informed of your arrival.”

She would be out of this jump in less than an hour. She turned around to look at the droid behind her. “Plug in and make the calculations, I don’t want to delay.” She headed down to the cargo hold to see what she could make of the ship herself but it didn’t make much of a difference, in a few hours she was pulling into Corellia and landing at a shipyard.

The ramp lowered and Jess made her way down the ramp looking at the woman who was awaiting her. Her short hair was dyed in a series of cascading white and blue. Her arms were crossed over her jumpsuit covered in patches of paint and engine oil. She was in her early fifties and yet her body was still as fit and regimented as a solider. She let out a low whistle as she looked up at the ship which had just landed in her yard.

“Damn this is a nice ship.” She said as she looked up at it. “I really like the paint job, very shiny. You know if these were different days I would probably try and steal this from you.”

Jess felt a frown form across her face. “I was told you can look at the fighter.” She said gesturing to hold which now continued two different ships.

“Oh yeah.” She said with the air of someone who had just remembered what they were supposed to be doing. “Chop, go neutralize the Imperial mess and get it on the lift.” She said with a wave of her hand and an old astromech, came whiling by and up the ramp. She stretched out a gloved hand. “Sabine Wren, nice to meet you.” She said in introduction.

“Jessika Pava.” The other woman replied much less cheerily.  “Time is a bit short.” She turned around to see the little droid zapping the ship with a bright white beam, it hissed for a moment before returning too normal.

Sabine laughed, “Oh yeah, you and everyone else.” She took the crook of Jessika’s arm in her hand and began to walk her to a small hut which seemed to function as the office of the shipyard. “I choose a core planet for a reason. All the signals get mixed up here, takes a while for things to get sorted out.”

Jessika pulled away, there would have been a time and place in which she would have enjoyed the other woman’s familiarity but that was years ago. “I just ran from the last leg of a very important mission; they will be tracking this ship down once certain information gets out.” She said angrily.

“I told you.” Sabine said in a kind and comforting voice which she had learned from others. “The ship is neutered right now, and once I’m done with it they won’t be able to find you.” She rolled her eyes playfully as they walked past many other ships waiting in the yard with colorful paint jobs.

“Are you sure?” Jessika whispered.

She nodded at her reassuringly. “Believe me, I learned from the best and have been doing this a long time.” She paused as she watched Jessika’s shoulders melt. “What kind of information where you passing on?”

“That’s classified.” Jessika replied in an automatic nature, it had become her response to everything over the years.

Sabine laughed. “You say that now but in a few months’ time when a major space station is destroyed by an unlikely group of small forces you will be claiming that it was you who passed on the information.” She winked at the other woman. “I’ve been at this a long time, and I’ve heard all the lies.” She added.

Jessika’s lips parted in a rare smile. “Believe me you will know.” She said in all seriousness knowing that when the information that had been passed onto the spy network which famously played both sides and was tight lipped was released she best be up in the air where she could easily run away.

The older woman nodded as she led her into a colorful office. Everything seemed to be in bright colors, all painted over of course. Some of it was far more abstract than the other recognizable patterns or murals. There was a door, barely noticeable in the sea of colors which led out into the streets of the planet beyond. “Well you go out and have a drink or two on me.” She said as she threw her a credit chip. “Just the TIE then?”

“Repair it and swipe it of any tracking devices.” She nodded in confirmation.

Sabine’s nose wrinkled. “Shame, I really would have liked to give it a custom paint job. I did some of my best work in my Imperial phase.”

The other woman shoulders rose and fell, she was too tiered for the banter back and forth she just wanted some time to rest before the fight began again. “Just restore it to its natural state.” She snapped back at her as she placed her hand on the door handle. And then paused as she thought of another question. She had been sent to the planet in such a rush that she had just blindly trusted the information she had been given. “You are capable of repairing it, right?”

Sabine smiled. “Well I was always more of a weapons expert.” She mused as she pulled on a pair of paint covered gloves. Jessika’s eyes grew wide as she looked at the woman, it was not the answer she wanted to hear. Sabine let out a low laugh. “Don’t worry, I have had years of experience working with ships. I can fix it.”

A breath escaped her, but it wasn’t relief. “How long will it take?”

“A few hours.” She replied and then a twinkle caught her eyes. “Another one for the…” Sabine paused and gave an over exaggerated wink. “Achieves. Right?”

Her eyes narrowed wondering how the woman knew about the large amount of First Order ships that the Resistance had stored all over the galaxy for infiltration missions. “Right.” She replied as she pushed open the door and stepped out into the muggy air of Corellia.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deepest apologies....those dang dementors got me down for a really long time.....

“I think we are good now.” He whispered as they jumped for the third time. He was sitting at the controls having imputed the last coordinates into the computer. Ben turned and looked at her his face falling in exhaustion.

The day in which they had passed on the information about Snoke had been a day which he had throughout for years. He had gone through a dozen different scenarios about how the handoff would work and their aftermaths. Of course, in reality it had only gone half to plan, perhaps that really was the best they could hope for. But now he was concerned about what would happen next. The waiting, not only for the information to go live, but also to see the reaction of the galaxy was the worst.

“You should get some sleep.” He said as he looked at her.

She gave him half a smile. “You too.” She added as she stood up to exit the cockpit. “Just set an alarm for half an hour before we get out of hyperspace.”

The hallways were narrow and low. There were only a few other compartments and room in the ship other than the cockpit. It clearly wasn’t meant to transport large amounts of anything, it was a fast ship meant for getaways and that was all. She found an empty room with a bunk soon enough and she sat down on the bed, closing her eyes for a moment to try and remember the home world which she came from. It seemed so peaceful and quiet in comparison to the world she knew now, as if it was a planet made of dreams compared to the harshness of the world around them.

The bed was clearly meant for a shorter species as she curled into the fetal position to fit her body into the carved space. Ebby closed her eyes thinking that with all the adrenaline running through her body she would never be able to sleep. But sleep quickly came.

**

At least on a planet known for its liquor she knew whatever had been placed down in front of her would be good. It didn’t matter what it was, as long as it did the job of numbing her brain for a little while longer. Jessika took a sip of the brown liquid which burned sharply at her throat before it faded into something softer. She set the glass down with a hard thud and looked at her own reflection in the corroded mirror behind the bar.

She hardly recognized herself anymore. The short hair, the blunt expression, the way she was snapping at everyone, even those who tried to help. The last time she had been on Corellia she had been a different person. She had been a young pilot interested in spending a chunk of her life making money racing. She looked over her shoulder at a few youthful begins energetically sitting in a corner booth, their eyes wide. She had been like them. Coming to a dive like this for the thrill rather than because she knew it was here among people who wanted to be avoided by official channels that the information she was awaiting would be spread to first.

She looked at the corner booth. They may have been older than her even, but in her mind, they were children. Children who with every chattering word and overdrawn expression only gnawed deeper at her internal annoyance. She was letting it get to her, that was what Ben kept telling her. He was insistent that the anger not get to her like it had Rey.

 _Rey. Stars above._ She thought to herself as she closed her eyes swirling the glass under her nose and picturing the other woman in her mind. She couldn’t stoop to her level, she had to hold on to the hope that Rey would come back to her. But it was slippery in her hands, and like her patience, it was running thin as well.

The words which she had once spoken years ago in a shuttle in space, where ringing in her ears: “ _Then let us not reserve our affections fearing that this has an expiration date_.” Perhaps she had been stupid to still cling onto her feelings towards Rey, but she still loved her. She didn’t love the person she had become, but rather the woman who was still underneath. Loving someone wasn’t always easy, sometimes it was the hardest thing in the world “ _That way if we ever do part, we will part knowing that we have made an honest effort of pouring our souls into one another_.” Jessika rolled her eyes at the mental image of her younger self, she was terrible at taking her own advice.

She looked around the bar once more, trying to find something of interest to distract her for a little while. There were a few screens around the bar, smaller and more concealed than they would have been in a nicer establishment. They showed not advertisements for various products and services but rather scores for races across the galaxy and a few with a running scroll of bounties.

But it was all just more of the same. She thought it would be different. She had thought that she would be done with this fight in just a few weeks. Not years. She didn’t know how much longer she could fight for a cause which was fading quickly. The First Order was slowly being hacked away at, hundreds of planets and systems had joined the Resistance in the fight, but Rey had slipped further and further away from her. They were collecting ships and slowly preparing for a final assault but she feared it would be useless.

She looked back down at the glass in her hand, and the reflection of herself in the mirror, behind her the image on the screen changed to the image of a familiarly faced woman in an old military uniform.

A loud and incredibly obscene exclamation from the nearest patron at the bar made her turn her head. She watched as the Transdoshan in question turned around to looked at the screen. Suddenly the room was silent as all the screens changed to the same transmission.

 _“We can confirm now the true identity of the leader of the First Order….”_ The room was silent and yet there was a ringing in Jessika’s ears. _“Amara Kenobi Skywalker...Former hand of the Emperor and who claimed to be reformed and follow the Jedi….”_

The transmission cut out with a screech, but it had been enough. The voices began again in a dozen different languages as data pads were pulled out to confirm what they had seen. She liked to imagine that somewhere in the galaxy Finn and Poe were smiling, while Ben was nodding with silent approval. A bolder person would have stood up in the dingy cantina and claimed to be the one to pass on the information, but Jessika just rose the glass of whiskey up to her lips and swallowed the remainder.

**

She woke up to the voice calling her name softly. “Ebby…Ebby I need your help.”

Her eyes flew open and she looked into the face of the man before him. In a certain light he looked formidable, yet when it shifted he looked no more than an unsure child on the verge of tears. He was just barely comfortable in his actions. She rose from the bed, careful not to hit her head as she followed him to the cockpit.

“We’re still in hyperspace.” She said as she sat down in the co-pilots chair.

He gave a nod. “It’s the landing that’s tricky.” He added as the light around them slowed down and she sat a green planet in the shadow of a much larger once with a faint haze around it. As if it was covered in some non-existent interstellar fog.

“What is that?” Ebby breathed as she watched him take the controls. As they were approaching it was becoming clearer. It was a band which seemed to surround the planet, like a set of rings but it was falling apart, filled with large gaps in the roving specks of grey and black which Ben was aiming for. “The beginnings of a planetary ring.” He muttered. “Shift main power to front shields.” He added and her fingers switched at the dash board.

She didn’t think that was possible, but she knew enough not to say anything as they approached the planet. The descent was rough, and from time to time she looked out of the window to see what they were passing through. Planetary rings were made of ice and rocks, but this seemed different. The shapes which passed them didn’t seem organic in shape, she could have sworn she saw plates of metal and parts of engines but she didn’t say anything until they set down in the heavy forest of the planet bellow.

“Is this the rendezvous?” She asked as she watched Ben stand up.

He shook his head. “No were getting an astromech. Then we are heading to the rendezvous.” He looked at her, as if eyeing her for her skill to the mission at hand. “It’s a long hike.” He said as he walked down the short hallways and into the muggy forest beyond.

Ebby had dressed in fatigues her jacket wrapped around her waist as she followed him through the deep forest. They continued hiking in silent for nearly an hour as the forest rose and fell around them. He was breathing hard as he led the way ahead of her, but not as much as she was. "Come on" Ben muttered. He was impatient, wanting to quickly get to whatever was at the end of this twisting trail.

"Well excuse me, I've never been to this planet before I've never walked this path.” Ebby said in an almost cocky tone. "I have to carefully plan out each step."

He turned his head to look behind him. She had her hands comically raised above her head for balance as she made her way through the gaps in the roots of the trees. She took one step then stopped completely before taking another.

"It’s a moon" He corrected her.

“Okay I don't know which moon we are on then.” She snapped back at him as she caught up with him. Taking a moment to realign her body to an upright position.

He smiled at her "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out."

She scoffed. “I told you I grew up on an unknown outer rim planet on the edge of Wild Space, my geography lessons were not quite as through as yours I assume."

“And where did you grow up?” He asked the curiosity unmistakable in his voice.

"You won't have heard of it." She said as she stepped past him. She didn’t know where they were going but the path was easy enough to follow.

“Try me.” He called after her but she pretended not to hear. “You know that I am capable of finding out on my own.” He joked but she stopped, her body stiffening in alarm. A confidence rose over him as he was tempted to use that part of his powers. It was almost like slipping into an old worn pair of shoes, comfortable but past the point of use. “I’m sure you’ve heard stories.” He added in an embarrassed whisper.

She turned and looked at him, her face afraid for a small moment before she smiled at him grasping as poise.  "Vitner.”  She said airily.

"Never heard of it" He muttered as he smiled at her trying to make her feel safe once more.

She shook her head. "Oh you are cocky, you know that." She laughed.

He grinned at her. They continued down the path which changed from being tree roots to a narrow path which ran alongside a cliff. Ebby looked down and gasped at the sheer drop below them. "Geez that's steep." She breathed.

"Then don't fall.” He reminded her. But he still had that momentary fear scared in her mind. For a few seconds Ebby had been afraid that he was going to use the Force on her. He had only been joking, just like he did with the others, but she had only known him for hours and he had forgotten for a moment that he had told her the truth. It surprised him that he had done such a thing and then be remembered something Ebby had said.

“What did your parents do in the Empire?”

He expected her to be hostile about her answer, but she wasn’t at all. “My father was a pilot for a brief while before joining the Rebellion. My mother was assigned to the _Devastator_ until she-”

“She knew Vader?” He interjected.

She turned around a gave a small nod. “Not personally.” She rolled her eyes. “But she worked on the ship, saw him once or twice, enough to give us nightmares when I was growing up.... anyway eventually she was given a ship to command on her own until it was destroyed.”

“Was she imprisoned after the war ended?” He asked clinically know that many imperials had not been given the pardons others had received due to their willingness to work with the New Republic.

Ebby nodded. “A few years I think. She eventually confessed to crimes and was pardoned, but neither of my parents talk about that time. Afterwards she and my father moved Vitner and began a new life.”

“Why Vitner?”

“The planet that they'd grown up on, it was changed by the Empire. it wasn't the same place that it was when they were both children they wanted to go somewhere new somewhere where no one knew them.”

Ben breathed a small sigh of understanding. Chances were when the war was over he would be doing the same sort of thing as well. Finding somewhere in wild space or even beyond, constantly trying to atone for what he had done.

“Your parents didn’t tell you all that, did they?”

She shook her head. “I figured out most of it on my own.” She replied.

She was smart enough to have now of a way off her home world years ago, to have known about the Resistance all along. “Why did you join sooner?”

She shrugged not paying much thought into her answer. “It’s like my father said some people join and only last two weeks.”

“You can do a lot in two weeks. Kriff you can make a hell of an impact on two minutes.” He said in a familiar broad tone.

“He’s my father, he wanted to protect us.” Ebby replied softly.

He bowed his head, having no good response as they continued to walk down the path in relative silence. It stepped down, a large lake coming into view, the green blue water calm. Had it been any other day, she would have enjoyed the journey out of pure recreation, but her mind was racing with questions she was too afraid to ask. Suddenly Ebby found herself in the thick of a mission, and she was just struggling to understand what was being commanded of her, there wasn’t even time to process what she was doing.

As the path became even and the steeping cliff sides turned into thickets of bushes which surrounded the lake she could see a sandy shore are the far side. "We could have landed here." Ebby said shocked.

He turned to grin at her again. “Yes, we could have."

Her eyes narrowed in frustration as she though back to the sleep climb "You wanted to see if I would push you down a cliff?” She breathed knowing that it had all been an act of trust.

He nodded once more but his face darkened. "Many would if given the chance." He muttered out of the corner of his mouth as they fell in line with a path around the edge of the lake.

She said nothing, her curiosity nipping at her heels as they approached a small home on the edge of the water. The door opened and old woman appeared as if she had already knowing their approach. She was a species which Ebby was unfamiliar with, with long head tails and a molted orange skin. She smiled for a minute as if welcome to see them, but it quickly faded into a serious expression.

“The information has already been released.” She muttered as they approached them. Questions again swirled to the forefront of Ebby’s mind yet she kept her mouth shut.

“And?” Ben asked her, hope rising in his voice.

A man stepped out from behind the shadows to stand behind the alien woman. His hair was long and grey matching the beard which framed his marked face. Ebby was struck with a wave of recognition. She had seen him before, in images and in posters. “As we expected. Chaos, confusion, damage control on all sides.” Luke replied a smile dawning on his face. “The Empire is finally beginning to fall.”

The wording struck the outsider as odd, but in a way what was the First Order other than a continuation of the Empires’ ideas as resources just under another name. “Then let’s get started.” Ben replied.

**

The hands of the young ensign were shaking as he looked at the readout. Across many of the monitored channels, and even some of those designated as menial the information was consistent. The signal, it didn’t matter how many of them had been stopped, it was just a small bit, enough to spread the whispered rumors about their leader. She stood outside the door, she likely already knew but someone had to tell her formally.

The door opened with a soft whoosh. “My Lady.” The words fell out of his mouth the sentence already placed in his mind. He felt his throat constrict as he was pulled forward by the dark-haired woman in front of him using the Force to push him towards her.

Rey’s eyes were piercing, the dark circles around them making them seem only more sinister as she peered down into his face, breathing darkly. It was obvious from the way her hands were shaking that she already knew either from seeing the transmission herself or through the higher powers she seemed to poses which had happened.

She looked down at the sniveling little man wonder where her anger was coming from. She knew she wasn’t mad at him, she knew she was mad at someone or someone’s else. But the transmission which was ringing through the galaxy had nothing to do with her. The exposure of the leader of the First Order had nothing to do with her, in fact she knew in the back of her mind that such an act could be a powerful tool in her rank and position within the group. The information, which was still streaming out was an attack on her mother, not her. She took a deep breath, outwardly snarling at the man as she searched deep down inside her to find the root of her troubles. She was afraid it would reveal her as well.

The information, the unaltered transmissions of her mother’s face which went back years had to have been leaked out somehow. The list of descent within the organization was short, but someone would take the fall. “I want slicers and scanners to break down the rebel transmission.” She said her voice deep and hoarse. _Rebel transmissions_ , she through to herself, they had been her friends for a brief time. “I want to know who has betrayed the First Order.” She snapped as she let go of his lapel and let him crumble slightly towards the floor before the man scuttled towards the door.

She turned away looking at the transmission screens running a hand across her face in worry. It was only behind these closed doors when she was able to show worry or weakness. To the crew of the Star Destroyer which she commanded it was only ever severity and expertise which they ever saw. She had to be assure of every move and risk she took. She was reminded of her days as a scavenger, carefully making her way into unknown depths, her feet taking cautious steps as her face expressed a gleeful smile determination driving her into the danger of crumbling ruins. But back then no one saw when she fell or made a mistake. Her victory and her failures were private, now she was just another part of a regime and everyone else affected her.

The screen before her flickered to life, she had been waiting for the transmission from her mother. The face of Amara was poised and angular. “Have you begun an investigation?”

She did not ask as to what, but the inferred answer was clear. “Yes.” Rey said with a small bow of her head. “Have you discovered the origin.”

The elder shook her head. “In time we will, but that does not matter now. It is our actions that matter.”

“Actions?” Rey said in a whisper, feeling a surprising surge of confidence flow through her as she looked at the woman whose empire was crumbling at her feet. “We won’t be able to gain the loyalties of new systems now. Some of our holdings can even turn on us, this sort of deception does not sit well.” She said speaking from a place of personal experience. “In one move of the enemy we have become a star that is dying.”

The look on her mother’s face was unreadable. There was truth to what Rey had spoken, regardless of any plans the First Order had for slowly taking over the rim. “Do you know what happens when a star dies?” She said, a glimmer of thought flashing across her face. “It goes supernova. The explosion destroys everything around it and leave behind a colorful remnant.”

Rey nodded, understanding the meaning. The First Order would not disappear quietly into the canals of history; it would make a memorable mark before it was brought down by any means. “And my orders are?” She asked sensing even now through the holographic projection the hate which fueled the woman before her.

“Find someone to blame and take them down, second guessing will not be allowed. The power of the First Order must be maintained.” She said before the image snapped away and Rey found herself staring at a wall. She could think of retorts, gone unspoken in her own mind. That if power was what they wanted to convey that perhaps the image of a twisted old man was not the best choice. That displays of power for the sake of making a display might not be the best choice. But her ideas went unvocalized as she walked back to the door putting on the face of intimidation once more.

**

“Understandably they are busy.” Poe whispered as he made his way to stand shoulder to shoulder with Finn. Even now in the small alleyway of the space station, filled with people shouting out in a dozen different languages most of the talk was about the same thing. The leader of the First Order, the group which was either terrorizing or unifying the galaxy depending on your point of view was being lead not by the slender and battle worn man, but by the daughter of a historic Jedi.

Finn had just turned off his communicator with a look of disgust. It would be nearly a week before someone could come and get them from the space station. He wondered what the chances were of someone tracing the message was. They had taken many steps to make such a thing difficult, but the First Order would be motivated. Staying on the station while awaiting the arrival of an unmarked ship seemed like a dangerous waste of time.

“We’re capable of flying away.” He said gruffly. “You know that.”

His husband turned his head to look at him sharply. “We’re already here, there are records of our known squadron members leaving the station in a hurry. We need to slip away unnoticed.” He muttered softly, though over the roar of the narrow streets it was hard to hear someone even a meter away.

They turned a corner, coming to the row of shops which had become their home in recent hours. “We could pay someone, a smuggler passing through.”

Poe shook his head. Infiltration was easy, they knew that after all these years of running missions all across the galaxy. It was the extraction without leaving a trail behind that was difficult. He wanted to leave as well, he wanted to be back in the safety of an army where he knew the soldiers were loyal to his own side, but patience was the only thing they had on their side.

“We’re not forgotten about.” Poe whispered as they walked down the street. He couldn’t help but smile as he heard the shouting rumors. Knowing that he was a part of that knowledge being spread seemed to make it all the more worth waiting for rescue. They walked back up to the grungy staircase which led to the small room. “Besides we need to start preparing for what is next.” He added as they climbed up the stairs. “If we’re lucky, they have no idea just how close the end of the First Order really is.”

**

Rey didn’t need to ask the man if he was certain, in fact in a way it didn’t even really matter if the information she had in front of her was true or not, it was what she needed to make a statement. Part of her could easily believe that the captain perhaps discouraged from the lack of any upward mobility in the ranks could have stolen the information and passed it on to the rebels. But she also knew that it could have been falsified.

The truth didn’t matter as the door slid open and she looked at the solider who was being escorted into the landing bay, pristine white clad troopers on either side.  The silver bucketed head twisted from side to side in curiosity as it stopped to look at Rey. “My Lady?” The voice came in a stilted accented question.

Rey said nothing as she pressed the device in the palm of her hand. The small holographic image revealed as much as was needed, that the origins of the signal which had been broadcast to the galaxy traveled back to her.

The woman in the armor shifted, “I am afraid you are mistaken.” The voice, usually so calm and commanding was edged with frenzy. “I would never betray the glory of the First Empire. I work only for.”

But Rey rose a hand, silencing her with little effort. “Your work is no longer required.” She said in a flat voice as the troopers reached around her and began with heavy hands to disarm her. Phasma was still enwrapped in the Force unable to speak as Rey continued on. “You are being discharged for your treason, and if you choose to protest you will be killed for your treason. Do you understand?”

The punishment almost seemed too light. But killing her would make her a martyr, and for someone so loyal to the military they served disendowments was a much harsher consequence. The silver head nodded once more. “Take the armor too.” Rey snapped “And drop her off on some nearby planet.” She added as she turned to leave the landing bay.

The swarm of troopers surrounded her once more pulling at the chrome plates until they left the woman underneath standing vulnerable and ashamed. The soldiers were already pulling apart at the silver armor like vultures as another group prodded her with their guns towards an empty shuttle.

“I didn’t do it.” She called out her voice echoing off the metal walls.

Rey looked over her shoulder at the woman. She had never seen her face before, it was obscured by shaggy blond hair and twisted in a grimace which was reddening her pale skin. Rey once again remembered that the truth didn’t matter, it was simply the action. “Thank you for your service.” She said in a cold voice before she walked away.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

The woman kicked her swiftly in the leg. “Get up.” She said in an angry tone of a voice. Jessika sat up, taking a very long time to remember where she was.

She was sprawled out on the couch of the waiting room of the repair shop, the brightly colored walls almost an assault on her eyes. Her head was swimming as she leaned up and looked at the elder woman whose arms were wrapped across her chest looking at her in disappointment. “No.” She moaned as she turned on the hard couch and buried her head in the upholstery.

“Oh for stars’ sakes you can’t just run away from your problems.” Sabine replied as she took a hold of the younger woman’s shoulders and turned her over, knowing full well in her head who she sounded like. Hera, she sounded like Hera. Part of her was glad that the Twi’lek had never managed to see this day come, she would have teased her mercilessly.

Jessika opened one heavy and hungover eye lid at her in suspicion. She hadn’t run away from her problems, she had spent the last three years fighting to get Rey back, it had consumed her every waking thought, and yet she had made little progress. “I’m done.” She muttered her head still swimming all around her.

Sabine let out a scoff as she backed away. “That’s a shame, since you just finally managed to make some impact on the universe.” She tutted sardonically as she pretended to head back to her work behind the counter.

Jessika slowly sat up, narrowing her eyes at the other woman. “What do you mean?” She muttered.

She shrugged, her hair bouncing off her shoulders as she did so. “I just assumed that you had something to do with that broadcast a few days ago.” She muttered off handedly pulling something up on her data pad and painfully avoiding making contact with her.

“And why do you think that.” Jessika snapped. Days? Had it really been a few days since she had landed on Corellia, in a half drunken haze time seemed to lose all meaning.

Sabine rolled her eyes. “I wonder if I was the same way when I was young.” She sighed to herself as she turned to grab something off the shelves behind her.

Jessika sat up, taking a moment to lick her lips as a wave of spinning came over her. “What do you mean?” She said as she scratched her head.

She turned to looked at her with a smile. “I wonder if I forgot that those older than me had also fought in a few wars too?” Jessika let out a sigh. “I’ve seen things you know; I even knew a few Jedi. I’m pretty good a knowing when someone is involved in the real thick of it.”

If she would have been capable of nodding Jessika would have. Sabine reached into a drawer and pulled out a small medical pack. She walked out from behind the counter and handed it over to the other woman, who placed it on her arm, feeling temporary relief from the hangover which would bother her for days to come. “Has it really made a difference?” She said, almost in disbelief she had been struggling for years to effect change, it was hard to believe it had finally happened.

Sabine nodded at her. “Yes, it has.” She said with a kind caring expression. “It’s all anyone is talking about. The news media is working on digging up her imperial records, Luke Skywalker himself has even made a statement.” She leaned in placing a hand on her shoulder. “You did good Pava.” She said reassuringly.

Jessika was still finding it a bit hard to believe, that after all this time she had managed to do something correctly. But she didn’t need to be told twice. “How is the ship?” She asked.

“Ready to go.” Sabine said softly. “Whenever you are.”

Jessika pulled herself to her feet, but the world swam around her. A guiding hand pulled her back down into a seated position once more. “Perhaps not just yet.” Sabine muttered. “A few more hours of sleep then you’ll be ready to fly.”

**

She had heard of Jedi, everyone had heard of Jedi but in less than a few days Ebby had managed to meet more Jedi than she had ever imagined. They were still in the little house on Endor two days after landing she spent most of her time sitting by the shore of the lake watching as the trio went through training exercises.

The little R2 droid whined for her attention frequently but she often paid it no attention watching the yellow, green and white blades of light as they hummed and hiss through the sunlight. She was mesmerized by something which she had only ever heard about in stories, she imagined that anyone else would be too.

She spent her time sitting with her toes in the water and a data pad in her lap, often reading aloud commentary which she found striking out to the deaf ears of the Jedi who ignored her. “This one is interesting…” She said aloud knowing the chances of either paying attention to her were slim. “This one talks about a Kenobi.”

All of the lightsaber blades retracted with a hiss pop. “Master Obi Wan?” Ahsoka said her eyes widening. She looked down at the article and gave a small nod.

“You knew him?” Ebby asked.

“Naturally.” She replied as she made her way towards Ebby, communicating with a small wave of her hand to Ben that their training was over for the time being. “I went on many missions with him in my younger years.” A sadness fell deep into her eyes. “What does it say about him?”

Ebby looked down and read the short bit again. “It’s from someone who lived on Tatooine. Something about… about how he used to cause trouble in the town from time to time, getting entangled with Imperial forces. Its…. It’s not a positive painting.”

“Sounds like the stories I used to hear.” Luke muttered in reply.

Ahsoka’s nose curled under. “The man I knew was never….” She paused trying to place the words. They both had known the same person but under radically different scenarios. They saw him each in a different saintly light. “An instigator.” She settled on the word.

“Maybe he wanted vengeance.” Ben suggested as he leaned over Ebby’s shoulder to look at the report.

“He wasn’t vengeful.” Luke replied.

“He lost everything to the Empire.” Ebby replied, feeling that perhaps she was pushing more than she was contributing to the conversation. “That changes people.”

Ahsoka nodded almost in understanding. “Trying to account for his daughter’s madness then.”

“Her madness was caused by Vader.” Ben snapped

Luke flinched at the accusation of his father. “Both of their madness was caused by the Emperor.” He stated with a shake of his head. “The vision he had for the world and the lies he told his followers to achieve only what _he_ wanted.” He continued on, looking at his pupil pointedly. “Minds can easily be poisoned; you mustn’t forget that. But they can also be healed; as you and my father both learned.” Luke looked at his nephew with a soul piercing stare.

Ebby bowed her head as if ashamed and unworthy of hearing such a conversation. A small laugh came out of Ahsoka. “I remember being young once and overhearing things which seemed so beyond my capacity at the time. And yet… now those overheard conversations are of great use.” She said in reflection to snippets of old Jedi wisdom which she had clung onto.

“We don’t have a lifetime to defeat the Dark Side, Sass” Ben said brashly.

Her face twitched he had called her by the nickname more frequently over the years than he did her real name, and every time he said it there was a falter of sorrow in her face. “I know.”

He looked at her irritated, and for a moment Ebby wondered if she was going to get a glimpse of his famous rage. “You keep reminding me, both of you.” He said as he looked at both her and Luke.

Ahsoka laughed to herself once more as she placed both of her lightsabers back on her hips. “It’s important, because for a few decades now several generations of Skywalker’s have tried to defeat the Dark Side.”

Ebby looked up at the trio of those who felt the Force. Ashoka was standing smugly, Luke was looking pensively into the distance while Ben looked annoyed. “And what are they supposed to do instead?” She asked calmly.

Ahsoka looked at her, glad that she had asked. It allowed her to opportunity to assuredly say it once more. “Bring balance for the Force.” She replied. She had been there on Mortis, she had watched Anakin battle the sides of the Force she had understood what it meant at the time. But decades had come and past and the burden had gotten passed down from generation to generation.  She looked at her student. “I think we’ll be ready to leave Endor soon. Come on Luke.” She added before she walked away from them both Luke following behind her like an obedient droid and headed back into her home.

The pair that was left said nothing until the door shut behind her. “Dum’ara.” Ben snapped as he sat down next to her run a hand through his wavy hair.

"What language is that?” Ebby asked with a raised brow, finding his frustration momentarily comical rather than worrying.

“Alderaanian.” He replied with a sigh

She blew air out of her lips. "I wouldn't use that too much if I were you."

"Why not my mother taught me?” He replied clearly insulted.

"And how many people from your mother's home world are left?” She asked rhetorically. “From what I understand that the Empire went around and killed most of them. Using that language identifies you. The only other possibility would be that you're still a child of some linguist who enjoys the languages of exploded planets.”

She gave him a swaggering smile but he just looked even more hurt. “I’m already rather easily identifiable.” He said as he fiddled with the lightsaber in his hands.

She didn’t reply, as she looked over the lake at the trees beyond on the far mountainside. It was easy to forget that the man she knew before her now was nothing like how he used to be. That while they could laugh about the Dark Side, he had overcome it’s draw. “You found the balance.” She whispered remembering the vile look on the woman, on Rey’s face. “I bet she can too.”

He scoffed. “I can’t make her though; it has to be her own choice. That’s what’s difficult.”

“What made you change your mind?”

He knew the answer in an instant, the image of his father’s face flashing across his mind’s eye, but he didn’t say anything right away. He looked out at the water, memories flooding his mind. Of the days when his parents still raised him rather than placing him with his uncle to be trained. They had always been scared of his powers, of his potential. He had been scared of them too when he was younger. But sending him away hadn’t been the right answer. He had felt they had pushed him away, allowing someone else to worry about their child while they focused on politics and high speed racing.

He sat by the late watching as the waves lapped against the shore, a memory flashing vividly into him mind as if he was seven again. He opened his mouth, reciting the memories if not for something to occupy the silence between them.

“I remember when I was a child my father took me on a trip.” He began in a slow voice which seemed very removed from his body as it rang in his ears. “He left me by this lake while he went and did the job, probably something highly illegal but I never asked the details.

“I sat at that shore watching the water go in and out slopping into the trees, and I spotted this small tiny little silver fish on the sandy shore the waves barely licking it. I assumed it was dead, it didn't seem to be moving and my attention was drawn to other things but every once in a while, I looked at the fish. Again and again I found myself looking at this fish until I realized that its fins were flapping its gills were moving slowly. It was trying to make its way back into the lake but every time a wave came it dragged it away from the shore, the current of the deeper water pushed back so that it never really moved at all.

“So I climbed down to the shore and I took this stick and I started poking at it. I assumed it wouldn't make much of a difference and I poked at it and I poked at it and finally I got it into the deeper water but it's still sat on the surface, half-dead gasping for air and not righting itself. I thought that what I've done had been fruitless, I tried to help but it was a lost cause. I turned my back and I went back to where I've been sitting on the shore with the data pad playing some game but when I looked back at the water, when I scoured the shore to see if it had washed up again or if it was still lying on the surface half dead, it was gone. It must have finally corrected itself and there was this strange feeling that came over me, that with one little nudge I had possibly elongated this creatures’ life.” He paused looking at the shore of the lake. “I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

“No, it does.” Ebby replied softly and she reached out and place a gently hand on his leg. It seemed to make all the sense in the world to her.

“We tried for so long to save Rey from what she chose to become.” He breathed. “We might not succeed.”

Ebby felt her lips twist, she didn’t know the woman in question she only knew how much so many people seemed to doing for her. “But you’ll try.” She whispered. They sure as hell were going to try their damnest to right her life. “But in the end, she has to make an effort to.”

An effort, that seemed to be all he could so from the moment he had set foot on Endor. Every time he had ever come to the planet he could feel the pull. Both the Emperor and his grandfather had died in the skies above the planet, both of their ashes has sept into the soil. There was a darkness which lived among the happy little Ewoks. It tugged at him, he wondered if it had tugged at Rey as well. He had done his own part in fighting against that evil.

He closed his eyes, slipping into a strange part of the Force. Very seldom had he ever in his life been able to go as far and see things in the future. He knew it was possible, his uncle had told him during his trainings about visions which he used to have once upon a time, but it was something he had only done once or twice. He closed his eyes, trying to find Rey in the darkness which seemed to envelop them both.

But he didn’t see her at all. Instead he saw Finn with the mouth of a blaster placed on the back of his neck. He saw his mother yelling out in agony. He saw Ebby wide eyes and terrified being pulled away by a man in a black uniform. He saw Luke standing, a resolute frown on his face.

He saw pain, he saw people in need of help. He felt called to action and at the same time he knew it could all just be a trick of his mind, a trap that he was playing on himself alone. Maybe none of it was going to come true, maybe all of it would. The only way he would even know was if he lived long enough to find out. But there was nothing else he could do in sitting around and waiting for something to happen.

He nodded to himself as he stood up, brushing the sand off him and offering her a hand up as well. “Come on, we have a rendezvous to make.”

**

She hadn’t really slept, but that wasn’t bothering the woman as she landed on the space station, it smelled like spice mixed with half rotting meat but to her it was success. She had been tracking the code of transmission for days now, endlessly working to find out who it was and from where in the galaxy someone had planted the seed that she would betray the First Order.

She didn’t have a name outside of the one that she had been given in the military. She didn’t have any sense of identity or ambitions. Her purpose had always been to follow orders. That ability had been taken away from her, she was going to get it back. She would prove her innocence through her work alone.

She had tracked the signal through its sources, traced it through the tattered remnants of the Bothan spy network to the Manda station. She had then managed, under conversion of a blaster to see the security tapes from the last month. It had been a foolish choice for an actual Bothan to appear on the station, it had been even more foolish for some of the most well-known rebels to make the tradeoff.

Two of them, and the unknown woman had flown off on ships, but everything she had told her that two others were still on board the station. Now she was stomping down the passageways her head turning at every corner as she looked for a familiar face.

Sounds were passing by her ears, heard and barely registered as she twisted through the many levels. She was used to having high tech equipment with her, or at least more men. To do everything on her own seemed so pedantic and antiquated, like going back in time.

"Don't worry, he's an asshole being raised by another asshole. In due time the universe will give him what he deserves." One Gamorran said in passing as she brushed by.

“Well I don’t know; the weather is rather unpleasant.” A Twi’lek was muttering as she gossiped by.

But it was all useless the sounds and smells of the station as she rounded another corner and her heart skipped a beat. The woman looked at the man sitting at the counter of the stand. It was hard to tell in the dim light if it was really him, she had seen so many faces in her lifetime, but it seemed as if his dark face was seared in her mind. He had changed, but he was still a traitor. She quickened her pace, knowing that she had an advantage, she had seen his real face but he had never seen hers.

She slipped behind him pulling out the blaster she had stolen with force and placing it at the back of his neck. "You traitor." She said loudly the fear and anger rising up within her.

Her finger was hovering on the trigger. Then she felt a cool ring placed around her own neck. "Kindly take your weapon off of my husband or you'll be dead too."

She turned her head and hissed his name. "Dameron."

He looked at her, frowning unable to place her, but she remembered him. She knew him as a bloody face but she knew him well.

Finn turned his head and looked at her. It took him a few beats to recognize the woman out of her silver uniform but the voice was the giveaway. "Phasma." He breathed.

She gave a small nod. "Not anymore." She snapped "You burned me."

Dameron chuckled. "You want revenge." She nodded. "That can be arranged." He replied with a smile.

 

 

**

Rey looked down at the hilt of the lightsaber in her hands. It was black and long like the staff she had been so fond of on Jakku. Her old weapon of choice. She had made this lightsaber modeled off of a plan she had found in the Sith archives the crystal inside of it red, a reminder of the path she had chosen. It was a lightsaber but it wasn’t hers. She could still feel it even though it was lightyears away the call of the saber which she had first felt all those years ago, which she had left on the floor of the old Temple on Coruscant. The lightsaber, even after all this time, even after she had rejected it, it still called to her. She felt the pull of the Force upon it as she held it in her hands. It had belonged to Vader; it had belonged to her father too.

She shook the idea out of her head, knowing that she needed to meditate.

When she had joined the First Order and stepped upon her own star ship she had seen the melted relic of a mask which her cousin had in the words of General Hux either worshiped or meditated with. It had not impressed her. Even spending most of her life on a small forgotten planet she had still heard about the fearsome mask of Darth Vader. The details of its curves and angles had been whispered around fires in the cold desert nights, they had been drawn in small acts of rebellion, but seeing the actual thing had done nothing for her.

She had taken a shuttle and landed on whatever planet they seemed to be nearest too. It was ironic how she had spent so much of her life dreaming about what was in the stars and yet she grew restless now of the blackness of space.

She stood in the shadow of a thick grove of trees, a hood pulled over her face as not to be seen. For if she was seen the children playing a few hundred feet away from her would surely run away in fear. They were calling out in joyous voices at one another’s names, making up rules for their own silly imaginations. But one little boy kept calling out. “I wish…. I wish.” The words rang in her ear as a mantra as the child said again in a happy tone. “I wish… I wish.”

She closed her eye half wishing herself as her fingers glid around the black hilt in a meditative state. The world around her melted the sounds of the children fading away the sound of everything other than her breathing disappearing. The world was silent before the red light came in front of her eyes.

It did not frighten her; she knew that in these states no matter if what she saw was the future or the past it could not harm her. The blade of red lights shone before her face alone in the darkness for quite some time. Slowly the rest came into view as well, the legs of those standing before her the weapons in their hands as she looked up at the red blade. She had seen this all before, many times in her dreams and meditations, now she knew what it meant.

The final battle was almost upon them.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Jessika pulled the ship hard to her right as she broke down into the atmosphere of the floating platforming handing out in the middle of space. It had been some old mining facility of some kind, though what it had minded she didn’t care about. It was hard to get in and out of, flying debris and old metallic beacons still littered the approach. It was meant to be the sort of place that you arrived at but few had ever left. All those factors, plus its location in the outer edges of the mid core made it an ideal location for a Resistance outpost.

She landed the _Scoundrel_ within the safe confines of an airlocked bubble on the main hanging port and disembarked quickly. The ship loomed over the various lettered star fighters, which sat in neat rows on the hanger bay. “Get the TIE and the X-wing out of there, and run diagnostics on the S-wings.” She said gruffly to one of the deck hands as she continued to walk through the space. It was spare, but then again this wasn’t the most interesting portion of the location.

She was greeted by a lone person. Leia stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her shoulders sagging as she looked at only Jessika emerge from the massive ship behind her.  “We got separated.” Jessika said in a soft voice. Despite her contempt of the rest of the universe, Leia was one of the few people left in the galaxy who she could manage to find any compassion towards.

“I know.” She replied with a heavy sigh as they began to walk down a corridor, passing the second hanger bay which was filled exclusively with stolen First Order and Imperial ships of all makes.

“Am I the first back?”

Leia nodded. “Ben should be back in a few days.”

Jess felt something clench in side of her. “Finn and Poe?” She asked suddenly fearing the worst, it was what she always assumed these days anyways.

Leia gave a slight shake of her head. “They are still on the station. Their extraction will be...” She paused, the break between her words heavy and downtrodden. “Harder.” She looked at Jessika with an etching of hope on her face. “Jessika.” She said in a tone that was meant to be reassuring.

Jessika sighed, sagging her shoulders as she lowered her head. It felt like whatever they did they never seemed to win anymore. In the reflection of the gleaming floor she could see the outline of the ships which they had spent years collecting. It had been part of a grand plan, the greatest rescue missions she had ever been a part of. But as time went on the rescue aspect slowly began to fade as it turned into a suicide mission.

“Your mission was successful.” Leia was saying reaching out a hand to try and comfort her, but Jessika stepped back. She looked up into the squinted once bright eyes of a woman who had been fighting since she was a teenager. At times, it seemed as if there was no point, no end to the fighting. Perhaps she should have gotten out of the Resistance when she had the chance, she should have listened to her brothers when they urged her not to go. Would she end up like Leia, old and hardened one of the last ones left behind from the old war which had bled into the new. Her name going down in the history books for battles she commanded and the information she got. Was this to be her legacy, was this the legacy she had even wanted.

As a child, she had dreamed of seeing the stars, of going beyond the atmosphere of the planet she lived on. How many other children on places like Tatooine or Jakku had dreamed the same dream. Jessika Pava was no different than them, she had no extra talents other than the luck of timing. She had been dragged into this war, and she had allowed it to continue to pull at her and drag her along until she no longer recognized the woman that she had become.

Jessika looked out at the flight suit she was wearing, and the insignia and the markings which she had once worn with pride and now wore with burden. “General.” She said in a low and firm tone. “I quit. I’m resigning my commission.”

The words seemed sudden almost like a shock but as soon as she said them aloud she felt a freedom flow through her. The stars above and the galaxy it contained had opened up to her once more. Leia looked at her, her face stony as she hid her shock well. There was no protest from the older woman, just a gentle nod of acceptance, she had expected this day to come, a long time ago in fact, the revenge and anger that she needed to take not a path which she could easily follow while part of a larger ruling body. “I trust that the secrets you know will remain hidden.”

“Of course.” Jessika replied as she took what felt like the first deep breath of fresh air she had taken in a decade.

“Then I am afraid Miss. Pava you can no longer stay on this station.” Leia added with a curtness as she returned to her militaristic speech patterns. “Proceed to hanger four, you’ll be on the next transport out.”

Jessika walked through the corridors feeling a freeing sensation running through her with every step. Finally, she had broken away, she had moved on. After years of thinking that tomorrow would be the day Rey suddenly came back into her life she had realized that she needed to move on. She wasn’t coming back to her, there was nothing more she could do. There was no rescue mission any more, and the Resistance certainly didn’t need her help in taking down the First Order. She boarded the ship which was heading to a nearby planet for a supply run.

Four hours later Jessika stepped out into the reeking air of a planet whose name she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter she didn’t plan on staying for long. She walked through the streets of the town which seemed reminiscent of a lower level of Coruscant, made of dingy metal and glass illuminated by flickering lights and the sounds of vices. She ducked inside the first Cantina and ordered a strong drink at the bar, reflecting on the sorry state of her credits. She placed herself somewhere where she would be able to overhear conversations easily, it would only be a matter of time before she found someone who needed a pilot.

**

The woman before them was strange and alien. She was human, or at least she appeared to be human. But she moved with a stunted manner that seemed to suggest she had never become comfortable in her natural state. Or to the men who were more educated, they knew she was not used to moving about without her suit of armor. She expected every movement to take a greater amount of weight, she looked around at the world her eyes expecting to see the readouts that only her connected bucket could provide her. She had been stripped of everything, in its place was a tall and lanky woman who moved like a scared animal released from a life of captivity into the wild.

Her hand was still fidgeting at her side, expecting to play with the trigger of the riffle that the couple had taken from her. She sat in the chair, her eyes wide as the light filtered in through the slats of the windows, hitting her face in sharp angles. Her chest rose and fell as she looked around, not knowing what to say.

Finn was sitting in a chair with two meters of no man’s land between them and a blaster on his lap leaned forward, his voice kind but inquisitive as he spoke first. “What happened?”

“You burned me.” She repeated her face flinching as she looked at them. She had never learned how to present herself out of a uniform. It had been pointed out to Finn a few months after he defected, he didn’t know how to control his facial ques, he had never had to think about how his expression affected the meaning of what he was saying when he was used to wearing a mask. “The information which you placed on the holonet, or at least had someone else place for you. The signature on it, the First Order mark it was mine.” She said her teeth grinding with every word as she looked at them both. “You did that on purpose.”

Finn leaned back and looked at his husband, they both gave a small shrug. “Ben was the one who decided that.” Poe replied lightly.

“Ben?” She echoed back at him, not knowing who he meant for several more seconds. “You mean he’s alive, Kylo Ren is alive.”

Finn nodded at her. “You knew who he really was?”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out, there were clues.” She said as she leaned back, looking almost relaxed for a moment. Perhaps she thought that he had been a double agent for four years, that she would be able to bring him back to the First Order in some plan that she was wildly concocting in her head.

Poe cleared his throat as he moved to place his weapon back in its holster and cross his arms over his chest. “Snoke’s new apprentice claims to have killed him.” She replied.

Finn chuckled, in a way Rey had killed what was left of Kylo Ren. “Why are you still alive? Why hasn’t anyone tried to kill you or come after you like they did me?”

She looked down at her lanky feet, ashamed. “I was discharged, dishonorably. No one would get any glory from killing a traitor like me, like what they paint me to be, in Snoke’s eyes this is a worse fate.” It was clear that to her it was a worse fate as well. She had been a solider all her life, to be kicked out and told to never come back had left her a wanderer with little purpose other than revenge. She looked up at them trying to figure out the silent signals between them both. “What are you planning?” She whispered interested.

“Why should we tell you?” Finn shot back reflexively.

“Because he told me you could help me get revenge.” She said with a cock of her head towards Poe. “Can you or not? ‘Cause if you can’t do a damn thing for me I would rather be left to get off this station.”

Poe sighed as he turned his head to look through the slats in the windows. Her knowledge could be useful, but then he had trusted stranger in his life. “Were leaving in twenty-four hours to head back to a Resistance meet up, you can accompany us if you’d like.”

A grimace flashed across her face, a possible attempt at a smile. “As your prisoner?” She asked tensely.

They looked at one another. “No, as a civilian who will have limited access.” Poe responded.

She sat back in the chair, crossing one leg under another and leaning back with a expression which indicated that she couldn’t give a kriff. “Take me to your leader.” She muttered under her breath as she shook her head at them both. It was a way to strike back, one that placed her in a feeble position, but it was better than nothing.

 

The transport came the next day, a large smuggling ship which was part of a loose alliance between an inner rim smuggling ring and the Resistance, the three passengers slipped aboard the ship with little mention, the Capitan far more interested in the sellable goods he was taking on than them. A day later they docked at the floating hanger where the Resistance had their secret fleet hidden. They disembarked without much word stepping into the bright lights of the hanger and looking at the one large familiar outline of a ship which hoovered largely over the other crafts.

A general was waiting for them, an older man with hardly any hair left and body which still seemed agile. Poe’s eyes seemed to light up at the sight of the man whom he had always heard about. Snaps had always been going on about him, how he had even given him his nickname. But Poe had never actually met up with his idol of sorts in all his years fighting with the Resistance.

The man before them was half of what he used to be, but reputation seemed to make him taller. There weren’t many fighter pilots who could claim they lived through both assaults on the Death Stars, but the man before them was one of them. “General Antilles.” Poe said with a grin on his face as he saluted the man, both of his traveling companions snickering at the childish admiration on his face.

“At ease Dameron.” Wedge replied with a small grin of his own. It wasn’t often any more that he found himself participating in wars, it wasn’t often that people looked up at him either. Part of him missed the days of when he had been a famous star fighter pilot, well known in certain circles taking advantage of all the perks that it afforded him. “Glad to have you back gentlemen, you’ve done quite a service for the galaxy.” The disgraced woman beside them let out a large snicker. “And you are…”

“She’s a civilian consultant.” Finn said, raising a hand to call over an officer. “See that she is set up with some quarters.” He told Antilles as he passed Phasma over to the officer who was still young enough that his facial hair was patchy at best. “We’ll meet with you after we speak with General Organa.” He added with a stern expression which translated to the idea that she was confined to quarters.

They watched in silence as she moved away, and disappeared from the deck of the hangar. “I’m surprised Jessika didn’t come to greet us.” Finn said as he looked at the outline of the Scoundrel.

“Jessika….” Wedge said softly. “Jessika Pava?” He asked. They nodded. “Didn’t you hear? She’s left the Resistance.”

Finn felt something cold wash over him. Fear that she had betrayed them, that after everything they had been through with losing Rey he had now lost Jess too. It seemed impossible, it seemed like a trick. For a moment, he was convinced that he would wake up and find himself in an First Order reconditioning center. It was impossible to think after how close they had come that Jessika would just give up.

“What are you doing?” He heard Poe call after him and Finn stopped realizing that he had begun to run towards the nearest X-wing and begin to jump in the cockpit. He froze with one foot on the seat and the other on the ladder.

He turned and looked at his husband, the man he loved he was doing what he would want anyone else to do if he had turned temporarily insane as well. “Going after her.” He replied dumfounded.

Poe let out a small laugh as he walked over to him and tugged on the leg of his trousers. “We have a mission. We have….” He leaned in closer and whispered harshly. “We just brought Phasma aboard, we have to stay here.”

Finn looked down at him and gave a nod of agreement before he dismounted the loading stairs. He felt strange all of the sudden as if the world had been slightly upturned since he had last walked on the surface. Jessika was gone, it didn’t seem right. “We need to talk with the General.” Finn said in regards to Leia.

“Yeah….sure.” Poe said as he followed after him looking longingly at Wedge.

He had a hundred different questions h wanted to ask the former pilot, and he was worried he might never get the chance to ask them again. He wondered if one day when he was old if there would be some young hot shot pilot who looked up to him the way he looked up at Wedge. “Poe.” His husband called out to him from half a deck away. He had stopped in mid thought without even noticing. He ran up to catch him across the deck to the control room where they would find the general.

Leia was standing at a control panel overlooking a schematic of the size of the stolen fleet they had amassed, her arms folded across her chest and a scowl on her face. There were several other officers and crew members moving about her, each looking busy at their different terminals on the control deck. She raised her head as the door opened with a soft whoosh to looked at who had come into the room. “Gentlemen.” She said softly with a nod.

Finn had planned to say something more fluent and cordial but he couldn’t manage to control himself. “I can’t believe you just let her run off like that.” He snapped at her in a manner that was highly out of official protocol.

Several heads of crew members turned to see how the General was going to act to the young doctor who had just mouthed off at her. Had they known he was a member of Danta Squadron perhaps they would have acted differently, but they had no way of knowing. She lowered her hand to her side considering for a moment to snap back at them both but she was to tiered to put forth such an act. “Follow me.” She replied tensely as she made her way to the private Capitan’s office which was attached to the control room.

The room was stark and minimal, in the same old style that everything else in the ship was. The door closed behind them and Leia allowed her shoulders to fall as she looked up at them and gave them a gentle roll of her eyes. “Lieutenant Pava made the choice to leave.” She said gently

Finn nodded, he knew this by now. “You should have stopped her.” She scoffed at the mere mention that such an action was part of her job description. “We are about the launch the attack which will cripple and bring down the Frist Order and you just let her leave.”

“She made the choice to leave and if she makes the choice to come back, well then she does.” Leia replied, there was something about the tone of her words which seemed to echo in the spirit of her late husband. “Frankly I’m surprised she didn’t leave sooner.”

“How can you say that?” Finn replied shaking his head baffled that her sudden unfaithfulness would be taken so lightly. “She was helping people, helping the Resistance.”

Leia’s shoulders fell. She had heard the same arguments from soldiers before, especially those who had been fighting all or most of their lives. They didn’t have anything to compare life during wartime too. No memories of happy childhoods or of careless days, just survival. “She was a shell of the woman you first met, her heart wasn’t in it anymore. She was going through the motions Finn. It wore her down,” She paused her lip quivering. “It wares the best of us down.” She added with a shake of her head as she turned away from them and looked out at the world beyond the view screen.

There was silence in the room for a long moment as they all reflected on the loss of the pilot. Once again, an end to the war was in sight, but Leia knew how false those endings could be. The war was never truly over; it would outlive them all. “Ben will be here within twenty hours and we launch an attack in two weeks’ time. Do you have anything else to add.” She said, her backs to them yet the reflection of her shaken face visible in the reflection of the glass.

Poe cleared his throat, speaking for the first time. “We brought someone with us.”

Her chest rose and fell as she exhaled loudly, as if it was all to be expected. “Did the Bothans send them with you?”

“No” Poe replied as he looked down at his feet, almost afraid of her commanding presence. When she snapped at them it felt personal, as if she was channeling his own mother and scalding him for Shara’s sake. “She used to be a part of the First Order until recently.

“Very recently.” Finn added under his breath.

She turned to raise her eyebrow at them. “Who?” She asked her curiosity peaked.

Poe gulped as he put on a charming smile. “Phasma.” He squeaked.

She looked at him indignantly. “And you think this is wise?” She said in a condescending tone which was worse than yelling.

“Yes.” He replied trying to be confident and failing at achieving the feeling.

“Will she speak with me about what she knows or will she only communicate with you two nerf herders.” She snapped sarcastically. They looked at one another and shrugged. “Fine, clean up get something to eat and all three of us will talk with her in two hours.” Leia replied as she brushed past them the door opening and closing behind her loudly.

“That could have gone worse.” Poe said meekly.

“Define worse.” Finn replied

**

It was cramped on the ship on the way back from Endor, but he didn’t seem to mind. Four beings and a droid had made the ship seem even smaller, but the impending sense of importance seemed to wash away all that worry. Most of the time there was three of them at least sitting in the cockpit listening as the astromech whirled at some part of the ships mechanics while trying to make it go faster. When they were fawning over R2 they were doing their best to keep one another occupied with tales of the strangest planets they had ever been to. Ahsoka had them all beat, though early on in the exchange Ben had forbid either her or Luke to use planets which they had traveled under war reasons as part of the plan. Even so Ahsoka had spent a large portion of her life on the run, she knew the deep reaches of space well.

Now both Luke and Ahsoka had gone to sleep leaving the younger two to sit and keep the droid company. They were hours away from their destination still.

“You still haven’t told me what we are doing?” Ebby said as she leaned back in the chair looking at the star lines outside of the window before her.

Ben gave her a little smile. She noticed how in the presence of his uncle and his teacher he was far more reserved. “What do you mean?”

“What the plan is.” She replied. “You’ve told the galaxy who Snoke really is but… I don’t think that’s all.” She looked at him with a raised brow. She could tell there was more going on.

He leaned back in his chair looking slightly ashamed at himself for thinking she was more niaeve than she seemed. “We’re planning an ambush.” He said crossing his hands in front of his body. “We’ve spent years collecting First Order ships, we plan to use them to attack a the Sluis Shipyard.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not all.” She muttered. “You wouldn’t have come and gotten them.” She said pointing back to the rest of the ship. “If that was it.”

He nodded. “It’s a decoy. Meant to confuse them. The real confrontation will be somewhere else. There is something Amara wants, that she’s wanted for a very long time. We’re going to let her think she had a shot at getting it.”

Ebby leaned forward, curious. “What is it?”

“Luke.”

**

Rey was running, her feet pounding upon the metal grating as the world seemed to collapse all around her. There were sounds whispers of voices and words that she had never heard in her lifetime but that the Force choose to surround her with. She tried to pay attention to what they were saying but it was difficult. With every focusing breath she seemed to take the sounds which surrounded her only became faster and more frantic. She shook her head willing the voices away, if they weren’t going to help her they were of no use to her at all.

The dreams and visions, they could have a purpose. She had learned to channel the natural flow of the Force that took over her subconscious, she learned to twist it to show her what it was so often hiding between the veiled metaphors. The collapsing hallways of the cloud city were not important, they were not her memories.

She rose her foot up in another long stride as she continued to run, but as her foot fell down it impacted not against the hard metal skywalks but rather a soft and slippery surface. She looked down at the sand which she was now standing on. Her feet slid in the fine grains as she looked up at the desert around her. She was standing at the long mouth of a canyon, the yellow and tan cliff sides rising above her filled with red bands of striation and little hidden caves hiding who knew what. It wasn’t Jakku she knew that for certain, but as she continued to walk through the canyon she could feel the tug of the Force. The push that this was where she was supposed to be, that this place was calling and pulling on her. 

She took a step forward noting the uneven terrain and the sounds of native life scurrying away from her presence. As she continued forward through the canyon rising up towards the sloping plateaus that it led to she could see lights in the sky ahead. Not stars shining down on her but rather a battle in the sky, green and red beams streaking across the sunset as rain began to fall. A few drops at first, hitting upon the top of her head, seeping down into the sand and disappearing. A little fall of rain, rare but not unheard of as the sands whirled around her.

But the downfall continued turning into a downpour, large drops falling down in sheets clouding the world before her and the turning the sand to mud. With every step, she felt as if she was clomping with her boots, stomping down and impacting her vengeance with her foot. The battlefield was becoming clearer, more lined with bodies and cries of the those about to greet death. This was the final battle; this is where it would take place when the dust turned to mud and a desert turned to a sea. The red light flashed before her eyes in a familiar welcome as the dual sunrise began and Rey opened her eyes, viewing the ceiling of her chamber.

She rose from her bed, her body stiff and rigid as she awoke from the meditation session. She stood swiftly to her full height her body rippling with power as she began to take long purposeful strides. She entered into the corridor of the Star Destroyer, officers scuttling over of her way as she walked tall, her long black clothes trailing behind her as her boots echoed off the corridors. Rey walked into the control room, her mind focus clear, clearer than it had been in months.

The captain on the ship was standing in front of a holo projection of the galaxy following up on the intelligence that the Resistance was going to attack one of their shipyards in the outer reaches. He was speaking loud about moving one of their fleets to come and meet them. Rey paid him no attention as she walked swiftly over to navigation panel, pushing the ensign on command aside to place a new course in the computer.

The Capitan looked up at her and frowned. “Ma’am?” He said, startled by her actions but petrified to cross her.

Rey looked up, past the little man to the woman who was standing behind him. Amara was wearing the old brown tattered Jedi robe once more her arms crossed. There had been only hiding for the woman whose plan had been outed. She had stepped foot upon no land, not said a word to counter the claims of truth made against her. She had spent the hours since commanding the ship in the First Order that still followed her as she spent time in her war room trying to tighten her grasp upon the fringed projections of her empire. She looked at her daughter, she had seen it too, she understood as well that the grand battle was almost at hand. Either the Empire would fully rise or fall, there was no shrinking back to the reaches anymore.

“Are you sure?” She asked Rey from across the command center her monotone voice echoing.

“I have seen it.” Rey replied with a nod of her head as she stood back up to her full imposing height.

Amara gave a gentle nod, turning her head to slightly glare at the Capitan threatening him to challenge her command with a single glare. “Where are we going?” He asked in a small voice.

Amara looked at him as if disappointed, or perhaps ready to raise her hand and prove of how little use he really was to her. “Home.” She breathed.

 

 


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

It had been weeks’ worth of planning, years’ worth of gathering materials and now they were finally ready to launch the final assault. No more muttering in the corridors about how two decades they should have captured a Star Destroyer and let it sit in storage for a moment just like this. No more messages passed through spy networks. There was a calm which seemed to wash over the members of the Resistance, it was a calm that was not unknown to those who had spent their lives in and out of war. They would win, they had to win. Long ago those who came before them formed a Rebel Alliance which grew large enough to overthrow an empire and now they were finally large enough to wipe out the last remnants. There would be casualties and losses, those were inevitable. But when the dust cleared they would be left standing. A similar sentiment was spoken in every rousing speech: the Force was with them; it was there time; there battle to loose.

The siblings stood in the war room, truly alone with one another for the first time in years. Leia looked at her brother as he leaned over the holo projection once more, still checking the spec even though he had them memorized by now. They said nothing to one another, only feeling small tugs at one another’s presence through the energy of the Force they both felt. Leia whispered the sentiment to herself, the idea that she had overheard frequently in recent days, that they would win. She looked at her brother, unable to tell for certain that he felt the same way. His judgement was clouded in more doubt. He wanted to win, but he was covering that assurance with the acceptance of failure. Age had turned him into a cynic who hoped for the best but expected the worst.

They were both leading a generation of men and woman who had been taught to fight into battle. Neither of them had been meant for this sort of war she realized, neither of them had been raised to do this. There had been so many others before them more equipped with better skills but they had perished in attacks and explosions or in rare cases age had caught up to them. The princess raised to be a politician and the farm boy. War had brought them together, she would have likely never known about her brother had it not been for the Empire, but it was the Empire all those year ago which had torn them apart as well. Now they would bring it down.

She had seen to many people in her lifetime and not known that it had been the last time she would gaze upon them. She had missed out on so many of the sort of goodbyes that the stories had led her to believe that she would have. She had walked away from Han, still angry. She had last heard her father’s voice in a frantic and cryptic transmission to find an old Jedi master as he rushed back to Alderaan, she had yelled angrily at her mother as she went off on yet another rebel mission.

“Luke?” She said softly as she looked at him unsure, knowing what she wanted desperately to say but unable to say it.

He looked up at her, she tried to remember the naive boy he had once been but it was impossible when she saw the old face before her now. Sometimes she forgot too that she was old now as well. “Are you…satisfied with the plan?” She asked him catching his eye.

He gave a slow nod. “I know it’s not perfect but think it’s the best scenario were going to get.”

“Yeah.” She breathed in agreement. It wasn’t what was ideal, ideal would have been never having to face the threat of an Empire or the First Order after Endor, but she was too naive to believe that there would never be an opposition. They disagreed, from person to person and species to species. It was a flaw in their design as sentient creatures.

She wanted to say more but she didn’t get the chance. Soon the doors were opening and the young soldiers under their command were coming into the room for one last briefing on their duties. They packed into the room, sitting on the benches until there was no more room other than to stand. Their colored uniforms and jumpsuits designated their tasks, before them a divided sea of colors unified in their anxious chattering’s.

No one in the room was immune to the pre-battle jitters most of the talk was that of a diverting nature. Something silly or childish to distract, it was a technique which had been used as second nature, as a skin they wrapped around themselves so that they did not have to cope with what they did not agree with.

The chattering began to die down and yet there were still people making an attempt to come into the room, the heat was rising as the noise died down at Leia realized all the eyes were on her. She remembered in her youth being one of those who was sitting on the sides, with Luke and Han beside her. They had never had the regular status as so many of the others who fought in the Rebel Alliance, for as long as she could remember she her status as a Princess of Alderaan had made her a little more affluent in the ranks. She had looked up at people like Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar wondering how they had fallen into the role of command, who had decided they were the voice of authority when there were so many others.

Now she found herself in that role. It didn’t seem so strange anymore, she could almost understand why they were chosen. Yet still even though she had been trained and prepped her whole life for speaking in front of others and leading there was still a split second of doubt as she took a deep breath, the words she had prepared running through her mind as their eyes turned to her.

“Let’s begin.” She said as she looked at them all, so hyper aware of how she was standing of where her hands were placed. “With the increase of the fractured system of the First Order this is the time for a final military attack. Large portions of our forces will be heading to the Sluis Shipyard to take out the last remaining production center of Star Destroyers.” Behind her a hologram of the shipyard hang in the air as she began to point. “We expect the area to be heavily guarded, however most of you will be flying in enemy ships which have been marked as part of the Kena Fleet, the access codes which you have will allow you to get inside of the protective field. This dreadnaught will fly into the main hanger bay for repaired with a skeleton crew, once inside they will begin the ships self-destructive sequence which we have established.”

A hand rose up into the air. “Are we sure the First Order will allow them to do that?”

Leia nodded. “The codes have been created by a reliable source.” She said remembering the bitterness on the former Captian Phasma’s face when she had agreed to help create the falsified records of the squadron. Revenge was a powerful ally she remembered, and while her ousting was difficult for her it was of great necessity for the Resistance. She had been willing to give them almost anything. Leia didn’t blame her She had been burned by the organization which she had pledged her life too. The freedom which she suddenly found was more of a prison than anything else. She had deflected to the first group which was willing to take her. She had given them codes and figures. They had the ships it would have taken them a few more months to get the false codes on the own but with the help of Phasma and a splicer they had the information delivered to them in weeks.

“The ships will be fly into the hanger for repair” Leia continued her voice firm to get the point across. She didn’t need anyone doubting the plan, not now. “Then after a few moments the attack will begin. “Carron and Rogue squadrons must be given the time to lead so their splicer and droids can get into First Order infrastructure and take the information about the rest of their fleet and any bases.”

“There aren’t any more super Death Stars out there is there?” Wedge asked with a small smirk on his old face.

Ben shook his head. “Even if they have begun plans on such a station it wouldn’t be completed by now.”

Snaps Wexley who had been old enough to remember the second Death Star spoke up remember something he had once overheard an former Imperial say on his youth. “I thought the idea of such stations was always seen as a needed excess within the organization rather than a legitimate source of power”

Leia gave a small noncommittal shiver, disagreeing highly with such a statement. Maybe the second Death Star had been an object of power but both its predecessor and successor had caused damage.

Luke saw his sisters shiver. “I think others would disagree.” He replied in a kind voice which calmed the worries of the room.

There was a few nods of agreement and Leia stepped aside as the briefing of the Sluis Shipyard contained. She wouldn’t be going, neither would Luke. But almost all of the pilots and troops in the briefing room needed to believe they would be going there. It was the illusion of the attack which was important, not that learning the location of First Order troops wasn’t. It would allow them to wipe out the remainder after they had dealt with Amara and Rey.

Leia along with her brother and her son and a small collection of soldiers would be heading to another planet all together, the small detachment making one last final stand. She prayed that it would be over swiftly that the glimpses of nightmares which she had in the past few years were nothing more than a mother’s worry. She had been fighting her whole life, she had broken the chain’s oppression but she was still fighting for freedom. She had never stopped because no matter what she did not everyone in the galaxy could always be free. Oppression went hand in hand with existence.

Men, women and creatures were all standing up talking rapidly with one another. Leia realized that the briefing was over. It was time for ships to set in their courses and for squadrons begin to put the final plans into attacks. Over the intercoms there was already instructions to head back to their stations. Just like that, an entire army was moved to action once more. The fleet was being deployed, as if it was another standard mission. She had been through those motions countless times in her own lifetime. It was a state of calm to her, even though it irritated her that it was as such.

She stood up looking around at the young faces of pilots and fighters whom she didn’t even know any more. She tried to learn their names, she tried to be close to them as she was to the men and women she had fought with when she was their age. But their astonished gazes when she engaged them in conversation reminded her that she was their superior now. Mon Mothma certainly had never managed to learn the name of ever member in the Rebel Alliance. Her father had been able to recall every farmer or smuggler he ever had the chance of meeting but she assumed that had been an exception to the rule more than anything else.

“Dameron.” She called out and she watched as the two men both turned around. The doctor and the pilot, it had been interesting to watch the two men slowly grow into those roles. She had worked with them closely over the years, they had seen to over time become part of the strange mix of family which she had found.

They turned crossing the distance between them in the briefing room. “Yes General?”  Poe asked with a bright smile on his face as he looked at her.

“I wanted to wish you good luck.” She said as she looked up at him.

He nodded down at her, his face turning dark as he looked at her. How many times had they said goodbye in anticipation of the worst. At least a few hundred times over the years. But the weight of finality seemed to hang over every expression and glance now.

“You too.” Poe finally spoke as he looked at her. He looked at Luke who was standing behind his sister in the shadows and at Ben who had been hiding in the darkness along the wall the entire briefing. “All of you.” Poe added.

Finn took a step forward, bending over to hug Leia and then give an awkward salute to Luke. “We’ll see each other again.” He said with an overly optimistic smile.”

Ben kicked off from his place on the wall, walking forward his face cast in shadows his eyes downward as he did his best to say out of everyone’s way. He would have much rather wanted to be a silent part of their operations, not having to show his face at meetings and the like, but his mother had explained that it was just another step in becoming part of the larger world. He pulled both Finn and Poe into strong armed one handed embraces. He had come to trust the couple over the past few years, they were some of the only people he trusted.

“May the Force be with you.” Ben said as he stepped back looking at them with a dark gaze which conveyed little hope.

The attack on the shipyard was just a decoy, they certainly didn’t need the Force or even luck on their side. All they needed to do was destroy as much of the First Order as they possibly could, they needed to draw and pull at the only power the faction had left.

Finn and Poe looked at one another, hearing as the disembodied voice gave an update on their departure time.  Then they looked at the others whom would be departing on another mission. It was time to finally go their own ways.

Poe stood up a little straighter, raising his hand in a salute as he looked at Leia. He had known her since he was a teenager. She had been a teacher, a leader at times even a mother to him. He fought back tears as he looked at her, the woman who all her life had fought for the freedoms of others, even when she lost everything that she once had. He gave her a small stiff salute. “Maybe the Force be with you as well.” He replied as he looked at her and her family.

Poe turned around, Finn following by his side. He was tempted to look back upon the Skywalkers, but he knew it would do him no good. They had done enough to try and help in the fight for the dominant pull of the Force on the galaxy, it was time to focus on their own battle.

 

**

He looked at the lightsaber in his hands. They had both been restored to their original state, the two blades separated back to their original hilts. They seemed incomplete, broken even though they were back to normal. He still remembered the echo of Rey dropping the blade in the floor as she walked away. He had never considered that she wouldn’t stay, not after she had made no many promises. He knew that not every promise worked out but it was still difficult to understand that she was willing to cave into lie. He had traded his broken wings to her, the girl that he had tried to save In her youth.

Luke had restored the two blades separating them with the Force as an act of contrition. It had been his own way to come to terms with losing his daughter again. Ben had hardly ever seen them since the battle of Coruscant. The weapons had been hidden like the prizes relics such that the lightsabers were. More likely they had been hidden for their own protection, weapons from such stories owners seemed to be hunted by a great deal.

His mother had given them to him once more, now for their final safe keeping. He looked at them feeling the power that came from the weapons. He could sense the power, the same gentle push that he felt with his own lightsaber, he just wished that he sensed more.

He wished that they called to him. That there was a mythical feeling when he touched the hilt or thought about the blades he touched the metal and he only felt the cold. He had seen how Rey had been drawn to the Force after such a long absence. Selfishly he wanted to have that much power as well. It disappointed him more than he could seem to be put into words.

“Ben” He turned on see his uncle behind him. All those who were coming in this secretive mission had filed into the _Scoundrel_. The ships seemed more crowded with ten people in it now that it had ever been before. They did their best to avoid one another sticking to themselves except for the occasion mission debriefing. He didn’t talk to anyone, there didn’t seem to be anyone to talk to. He had already made his mind up about what might be happening and the steps he was willing to take 

“Ben” His uncle said once more. He removed his hands from the silver as if he had done something wrong. In the presence of Luke, he always seemed to feel like a child who was misbehaving even though he knew the man before him was not perfect either.  **“** It bothers you that it doesn’t call to you.”

He looked at both the weapons, he had spent so many years idolizing his grandfather that he had always assume that his lightsaber would work for him that it would belong to him, even after Rey had turned to the dark side, selfishly he had assumed it would be his. But it wasn’t, it still felt as cold and distant to him as it had years ago.

“Are you drawn to it?” He asked his uncle

“I was at first, but I think it was because it was the first lightsaber I had ever seen. But it didn’t belong to me like how… like how she felt it did.” He said unable to say his daughters name. His hand instinctively grazed the hilt of his own saber. “It doesn’t feel… as at home as my own ones does.”

He gave a nod understanding the crazy words that he was saying. “Then why does it affect her?”

“I don’t know.” Luke admitted, he called himself a Jedi Master but there was still so much that he didn’t know. “These sorts of things were never meant to be passed on” He was talking about more than just a line of succession for a weapon. Maybe there had been a reason for Jedi not to be in relationship, maybe it diluted the powers of the force that they had. Maybe such influence of the Force was slowly driving them all mad.

“How long will the trip take?” The younger man asked as he grasped the blades he had a message to send, but he was unsure of the location of its recipient. He only hoped his message would be sent in time.

 “A few days.” Luke said as he looked at the many who seemed so broken. So much older that he really was, for his whole like Ben Solo had been the singular barer of the greater powers in the universe. His own internal struggle with the Force had nearly torn him and the galaxy apart, he had never known rest, not even when he was a child. The promises which he had made to Luke, to his parents, to himself had never worked out in his favor. Even if he survived the mission, he would likely never find peace in his lifetime. “Have you ever been there before?” Luke asked as he looked down at his nephew, there were still so many travels, so many aspects of his life that Luke would never know.

“No” Ben replied in a soft and distant voice. His mind was elsewhere, scouring the galaxy for the soul he was searching for.

“It’s been years since I have been back.” Luke replied wistfully.

The young man snapped his head up, suddenly paying attention once more. “Did you miss it?”

It was a loaded question, it had been the planet which he had been raised on, it had been his home and yet here are was part of him which had never belonged to Tatooine in the first place. There were aspects of the world which he missed; the way the sky looked when the suns were setting the sound of a speeder bouncing off a canyon wall. But the Jawas and the Sand People he could do without. He had had a hard life on the planet most people who lived there did, but it had shaped him into who he was.

“It’s easy to miss the life you once led,” Luke began a shiver running down his spine every bone in his body telling him he needed to retreat from the situation at hand. “When you don’t know how much simpler it was to the life you lead in comparison.” He pulled himself up and looked down at the young man at his feet.

He had been his age when he had brought down the Empire. He had thought that the hardest days of his life were over as he watched the debris fall down on the moons of Endor. But he had been so very wrong. A life of politics and teaching of losing friends and family had been before him. Nothing had prepared him for that. Lightsaber battles were easy in comparison to teaching the ways of the Jedi.

The future could be assumed. Either a success or a failure would bring the younger generation a world to rebuild, a responsibility thrown on their own shoulders. He looked down at the man bellow him, clearing his throat as the words he wished that someone had once told him came to mind.

“It might feel like you are the center of the universe. That everything depends on you. It’s a crushing feeling, but it’s not true. You’ll succeed and you’ll fail at the simplest of things just like everyone else. And there are things bigger than you, people more influential and important. And there is the Force, always, to guide you when it seems as if there is no one else to do so.” He looked down at him once more feeling his face scrunch in contemplation as he looked at Ben. He still seemed like a boy, a timid child who would never live up to the legacy of the man whom he was named after.

Ben nodded in understanding, closing his eyes and slipping into meditation.

**

He had tried to distract himself with talking and conversation, of relishing in the good old days of what it had once been like but it was impossible. He felt simultaneously too cold and both too warm, Poe wringed his hands together as his leg bounced up and down. He was in charge of a large group   of soldiers, he was painfully aware of that as each seemed to give him a glace of helplessness as they passed by. They wanted him to give them in an instruction for their downtime, they wanted to mindless run drills and simulations in the idea that they would somehow help when it came time for a real battle. They wanted someone to tell them what to do, Poe wanted the same thing as well.

He had never imagined when he had joined the Resistance all those years ago that it would last so long. He had been young and cocky, more interested in charming every sentient species that walked by him while he was having a drink. He wanted to race ships or smuggle goods in Hutt controlled space. The Resistance had been a way off of Yavin, a way to help Snaps, a mere acquaintance from his days of flight school. It had been about making the New Republic see that the threat of the First Order was the Empire trying to rise its head, not just some gathered disgruntled citizens in the corner of a cantina. He hadn’t planned on the New Republic going up in flames with the Hosnian System, or meeting Finn or becoming a central part of the operations.

Quietly he had slipped through the ranks, the promotions always coming as half a surprise. Now he was in command, in charge of an attack on First Order shipyard. He wasn’t flying in the X-wings anymore, he was the one in the battle carrier, giving out commands.

“Hey.” He looked upwards seeing the large frame of Snaps dominate the light ahead of him. “What are you doing down here?” Poe looked at him, furrowing his brow in confusion. His friend gestured around to the flight deck which they both were. He was signally how it was beneath him, that was half of the reason why everyone was looking at him so strangely they were worried their skills were being assed. He was a part of command now, his place was in a control room or a bridge, yet he didn’t feel any more comfortable there than he did in the strange chill of the flight deck the smells of soldering metal mixing with jet fuel.

“I was just…” He paused biting at his lip and running a hand through his hair. He felt old for a moment, every muscle in his body sore as he looked at his friend. “I was thinking.”

Snaps scoffed at him. “Wouldn’t you rather be thinking where it is quiet?” His hand gesturing upwards meaning the upper levels where he belonged. He felt like shrugging but he was suddenly aware of all the eyes in the large room which were on him.

He looked at the man who was older than him. He had heard the stories of how Snaps had managed to go up against the fragments of the Empire in his younger days. He had always seemed so proud of those battles and skirmishes he had caused. He had taken to leadership easily, he didn’t mind commanding others in fact he rather seemed to like it. But Poe had always wanted to fly instead, he would rather have people telling him what to do than be the one giving the instructions.

Snaps leaned forward and place a comforting hand on Poe’s shoulder as he looked down at him. “We’ve got the numbers on our side.” He said in reply to the truth that they greatly outnumbered the First Order. “And we know what we have to do this time.” Poe looked up and him and frowned. “We have to wipe them out… truly.” He said in a voice that was tinted with malice. “I was there, I remembered for a time we almost thought that the New Republic and the Empire could live in harmony. But now we know, we have to wipe them out completely, destroy everything they have. It’s the only way we can be successful.” He clapped him on the shoulder once more. “Fly true and we will win in no time.”

He walked away with a smile on his face but it didn’t make Poe feel any better about himself or any more assured in what they were going to do. He looked around the hanger at the ships which he had spent so much of his life flying in. If he flew smart he would survive this battle, but he knew there was another battle happening at the same time, in many ways it didn’t matter what happened at the Sluis Shipyards they were simply doing their very best to wipe out as many ships as possible. It mattered what happened on Tatooine, that was where the real battle was.

In two days times, they would attack. It seemed like a lifetime. He silently cursed that so many wars had seemingly stalled the advancement of hyperdrive technology. Even in the fastest ships it still took weeks to get from one side of the galaxy to the other.  Shouldn’t they be moving faster than that by now.

He sighed in exasperation knowing there was nothing else to do other than wait for them to arrive. The wait would be excruciating, they could look at schematics and go over planning but there was nothing that he could do that would satisfy the feeling he had. A subtle itching under his skin, he knew Snaps was right, they had more man power they had confidence but the other side was fighting for their lives. The roles had been reversed, the First Order were now the tattered underdogs, and he wondered if the New Republic would ever truly live up to its name sake.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nasty thoughts but it was nearly impossible. He had stayed on the flight deck for far too long, the other pilots were beginning to take notice of him now. With another sigh he made his way back through the corridors of the ship to the small quarters which were there’s for the moment.

Finn was sitting on the bed, reading the datatpad in his hands. He looked up briefly as Poe entered. “Everything ready captain?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Poe sighed bitterly as his husband scooted over to make space for him on the narrow bed. “As ready as it will ever be.” He looked over at Finn’s dark face there were far more lines and scars on it than there had been when they first met. He looked older, Poe realized he looked older too, but he didn’t bring it up.

Finn saw the hesitance in the other man, but he had enough tact not to mention it. He too had his fears of their success, not of their success at the shipyard, but overall. The end was in sight, but whose end it was unclear. “Maybe after this…” Finn began as he ran his hand through his short hair. They had both been thinking about it, contemplating it, but someone had to say it aloud. “Maybe, where’re getting to old for military service.”

It was a lie, a blatant one. Despite their injuries over time they proven more than useful in important missions. Many of their fellow pilots and soldiers were older than them as well. It was a matter of where they would be when their luck in the world ran out, would they die in a battlefield or of old age. It was a choice they could make, the opportune moment for a career change would be in the aftermath of the shipyard attack.

The question was where they making a selfish choice?

Poe looked at him with an inkling of a smile. Neither of them had ever done anything else in their lives except fight. “Maybe we are.” Poe whispered as he leaned up against the other man.

Finn smiled. “Maybe we are.” He echoed as he pulled the man he loved in closer.

**

They had to win. It was impossible not to. The First Order had been through so much. It had risen from the remains of the once mighty Empire to take back what had been stolen. It didn’t matter how much the Rebels tried to discredit the organization they had endured. From year after year, from victories to losses the First Order had remained, the Empire still prevailed.

Rey stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, of the ship she knew so well. She was aware of the circuity that laid beneath the shining consoles, the finer inner workings. The readouts still took her by surprise after all these years. She was so accustomed to what was beneath the surface, of the value of the inner workings that the functionality of the ship was something which surprised her. There was truly little function beyond intimidation for such a large ship. It hung in the air like a giant standing guard over a planet. It had considerable weapons powers, but a distinct lack of maneuverability. It relied on its use of TIE fighters deployed as anonymous drone extensions and it size to get the point across. In battle, it was truly more of a liability than an asset.

She was an outsider, able to see these faults in a war which she had been removed from all her life. She had spoken her mind, but her ideas were seldom followed through upon. Twelve Star Destroyers all they had left and the TIE fighters they employed had been sent to the Sluis Shipyard to fight back against the Rebel attack which their intelligence pointed to. Capitan Utan had begged for them to follow along. He had been waved off with one of Amara’s more withering gazes.

Rey was capable of flying a ship of this size, more than capable of handling plotting courses, but her mother had insisted on appointing a Capitan from within the ranks of the First Order to fly it for her. She had control of the ship, but as her mother explained it was a matter of appearance, a show of dominating one’s power as she bossed around the red-faced man who stood with his boots pinching at his feet. He was still going on about it, mentioning it at every turn Rey had rolled her eyes at him, his voice becoming more irritating. She was tempted to lash out at him, she could see it was expected but she had done her best not to follow in the foots of her predecessor.

“Ma’ams every piece of intelligence we have tells us that the Rebels will be attacking the shipyard.” Utan said his voice high pitched.

Rey sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her black uniform in closer to her body. She looked out of the corner of her eye at her mother. Amara Kenobi was wearing a black First Order uniform, her arms hanging at her side, the fingers of her right hand brushing up against her lightsaber. She was barely continuing the anger within her. Rey could feel the tension in her mother as the woman looked out of the view screen at the star lines streaking the sky. She had been so close to achieving the dreams of her former masters, the dreams which she had herself and now they had been threatened. Gone was her secure anonymity and the illusion from which she had controlled an vast realm of the galaxy, gone was the confidence that people had in the image of a gnarled man. Some had turned away simply because she was a woman, some because she was in their minds a Jedi, some because of her connection to Luke Skywalker. But the betrayal had only made her feel more moved to strike and prove them all wrong.

Her hand grazed at the hilt of the lightsaber, a flash of anger in her eyes as looked at Capitan Utan considering killing him just to avoid his argumentative voice. But Amara changed her mind, her hand brushing up to adjust the buttons of her uniform, she wasn’t used to such an outfit. She had preferred to show that her loyalty was still to the empire which she was rebuilding. “It is a decoy.” She said in a cool voice as she looked at the computer screen bellow eyeing the time until arrival. “A well thought of decoy.” She added “They have given us too much information with far too little effort on our spies’ part.”

She looked at Rey, a strange expression on her face. She was a woman who knew full well the consequences of what she was facing. There were only two options success or failure, it didn’t matter what happened at the shipyard, that wasn’t where the real battle was. Her mother had shown her that the act of fighting a war was done with carefully planned illusions. Sending soldiers into one battle knowing it had little or no importance, it wasn’t about lives it was about power and the moved which they made which would give them the most power. When plans were views through such a lens it was easy to make a decision without fret.

She gave her a small beckoning glance as soft voice echoing in her ear for her to follow Amara through one of the many sliding doors to the private compartments which lined the chambers of the hall. Rey followed her, her eyes still looking around the room and seeing the things of value, the habits of her youth never fully leaving her. Her mother turned to look at her, a hardness in her eyes.

In the years since she had spent with the First Order she had never fully seen the kind and caring mother whom she had remembered in her dreams. Even now Amara was still placing a wall between herself and her child seeing her more as an apprentice than anything else. There was no attachment in their relationship.

“Do you know what you will have to do?” Her mother asked her in a voice which was hoarse and sharp echoing the false voice of the puppet Snoke she had used for so long to control the Order.

“Yes.” Rey said, images flashing in her mind’s eye as she looked out of the window of the office at the stars beyond.

For so many years she had never once felt the desire to travel among the stars, her desires had been for those to come from the stars, for her parents and her family to come back and get her. But they never did, they never would have. She would have lived and died on Jakku if it hadn’t been for a droid and a former storm trooper. She had often wondered ever since she had met him, what had snapped in his mind to make him to change loyalties. Finn, she hardly let herself think of the name or the face of the man whom she had once called her friend. But he had turned away from the life she now embraced, he had been weak, she had been told that by so many members of the First Order. He was the defect in the solider conditioning program, by contrast Rey was their shining star. The member of the Resistance who had turned and joined them.

Her mother’s voice cut through her thoughts, “You won’t hesitate?”

She paused, wanting for a moment to reply that she had never believed to hesitate before. “No I won’t. I know what needs to be done for the sake of the First Order.” She replied knowing that it was test. It was always a test, a test of her skills and of her might.

“For the Empire.” Her mother corrected her. She turned and looked at her with dark eyes as her hands crossed over her chest. “We succeed and the First Order is gone. It was only a place holder for what once was, the Empire will rise again and together we shall rule the galaxy, but first we must wipe out the Jedi.”

“Will there not always be those who are awakened by the Force?” She asked in a soft whisper.

Her mother’s face was a pallid slate as she gave one curt nod. “Yes, but they shall forever be known as Sith.”


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

He tried not to smile as he watched another explosion fill the stars. Hanging in midair over the planet of Sluis Van the shipyard bellow was slowly turning into a tattered remnant of the First Order. The smoke rose clouding the surface of the planet bellow, as explosion after explosion filled the landscape. Up in the space above the planet the Resistance planes dove in and out, attacking the Star Destroyers which had been sent to protect the instillation bellow.

 It had been as easy to attack the Sluis Shipyard as they had assumed it would be. The crews which had slipped in with the convoy of stolen First Order ships had easily managed to land and dock at the station quickly setting off the chain reaction of explosions which rendered the rest of the operations incapacitated. The ship yard was the last place in the galaxy where the First Order had been able to work on their fighters and maintain their ships freely, now it was smoldering ash and metal. ‘

Outside of the view screen another set of TIE fighter whizzed by, their high-pitched whine audible inside the bridge of the ship. Poe looked at them with just a twinge of disappointment as one of the gun turrets from his own ship fired upon the planes, sending them quickly to into a ball of flame which quickly dissipated. Part of his wished that he was in an X-wing at the moment, but his experience in battles had earned him his place at a command ship.

“Send fighters over to the Star Destroyers in quadrant three. We have to take out as many of them as possible.” He said as he turned away from the transparisteel and back to the holographic readout of the battle behind him. He could see in detail the overhead analysis of the battle. Two Star Destroyers had already been bombed beyond revival but it still left another ten to deal with. There were other First Order ships as well, carriers and shuttles which had mixed in with the fight. The ploy had been serious enough that they had indeed sent the majority of their forces to deal with the Resistance, but now with the primary objective attained they moved on to the second one.

He peered at it, looking at the designations of enemy ships which were glowing blue. The remainder of their stolen crop. Their disguises were doing little from sheltering them from enemy fire. “How much of the ground crew is back?” Poe asked as he squinted at what was before him.

“Only Rogue’s 5 and 7.” A nameless face called out to him

He looked at the ensign furrowing his brown. “The rest?”

The boy shook his head. “No contact.”

He sighed knowing that it meant that out of the six crews they had sent down to the planet four were likely dead.

The door swished open and he looked up as the pilot came running into the control room. Ebby was wearing an X-wing flight suit but it was singed and ripped. She was panting half out of breath as she took off her helmet and placed it under her head. “What happened to you-“ Poe began to ask she had been fly with her squadron.

She shook her head rapidly. “I have an idea to get rid of those Star Destroyers.” She said rapidly with a large smile on her face.

He frowned at her, falling into the role of her superior “Corona Twelve this is highly…”

“Do you want to hear it or not?” She said as she rushed forward towards him. “We need to get them out of the sky or they will just send more TIE’s.” She looked at him seriously.

He gave a small nod. “Okay let’s hear it.”

“We still have a TIE sitting in the hold.” She pointed as she spoke rapidly. “I saw it when I brought in my own ship. We fly it into a Star Destroyer and land. This one.” She added as she pointed to one that had formed a geometric cluster with its kindred ships. “We fly in and set the self-destruct sequence. It will take out four, five Destroyers if we are lucky.” She stopped catching her breath and looking at him with a large smile.

“It’s a suicide mission.” Poe replied harshly, but he knew she was right. It would cut the effort in the battle in half.

“I can fly a TIE. I’m willing to go.” She said with a bob of her head. “But I’ll need an astromech and I can fit two, maybe three others into the ship.”

He didn’t think, he didn’t stop and consider for a moment the life he had planned for after this battle was over. Poe ripped off his jacket, threw it on the floor and grabbed his communicator. “BB-8 meet me at hanger four.” There was a chirp as the droid gave his confirmation. “Finn?” He called out hopefully

There was a crack on the line “Yeah.” He smiled as he ran into the corridor with following behind Ebby she was talking into her own communicator seeing if she could get First Order uniforms. “Want to be a storm trooper again?” There was a pause in which his husband said nothing. “Just meet me in hanger four and…” He paused there was one other person aboard the ship who had personal knowledge of a Star Destroyer. “Bring Phasma.”

**

Jessika had been flying in the freighter for a few weeks now. How many she couldn’t keep track of any more. She did what she was told, she kept her head clear enough to fly and when she wasn’t needed she spent her time drinking or gambling. Finding something that managed to satisfy the pain she was feeling for the moment. It was never enough, it would never be enough. But she did her best.

She was hauling expensive cargo, at least that was what the man who had hired her had said. She hadn’t actually checked on what it was, even though she could tell her employer was suspicious that she was kicking from the crates. The trips between Ryloth and one of its small moons had at least allowed her some interesting creatures to come across her path. The Twi’lek’s had no love of any oppression and they were free to allow her to pass back and forth with little stopping her.

The job occupied her mind for the time being, but she was already looking for another corner of the galaxy to find. Maybe she would head into wild space or somewhere in the Rim which was suitably untamed. It wasn’t that she minded rules, she just wanted to forget about the war which was going on.

She pushed another hovering crate up the ramp of the batted cargo ship which she had bent lent. It was hell to fly but at least it gave her somewhat of a challenge. She did her best not to let the crate nock together, but it was a tempting way to vent some of her frustrations. She watched as the crates flew up the ramp and into the cargo hold gently tapping their sides together before she pushed away at another one.

Someone yelled at her, a Twi’lek whose orange lekku were bouncing up and down as they ran at her, shaking her fist. She ignored the man, it didn’t matter too much to her. There hardly seemed that there was anything terrible which they could do to her. Her spirt was already broken, anything else at this point would just be another addition.

But the man kept yelling at her, coming closer and closer as she pushed the crates up the ramp. Jessika rolled her eyes, taking care with the final three crates, but it didn’t satisfy the creature.

The Twi’lek approached her and took a hold of her arm firmly. She looked up at the man and scoffed, pulling her arm away. “What.” She snapped at him. “I’m not going to break anything.” She added.

“Are you Jessika Pava?” She froze, she had given her current employer a fake name upon her hiring.

“No.” She shook her head, trying to forget the name.

He pulled out a small circular device and displayed a holographic image of her face. “I have a message for Jessika Pava.” He said with a small knowing smile as he pulled out a small slim rectangular box.

She looked at the box with narrowed eyes. “All right it’s me.” She grumbled. He pushed the box towards her once more. She grasped at it feeling the weight of the objects inside. “Who sent this?” She asked him, shaking her head. Silently she was cursing herself that she was still hungover, that her head wasn’t as clear.

“I didn’t get a name of the sender.”

She could hear the metal objects rattling around inside, hitting up against one another. She rolled her eyes feeling a searing pain in her head and wondering if she was just hungover or still drunk. “Well where was it sent from?”

He frowned at her, his lekku bending to show his confusion as her question. To anyone else such an answer would provide little knowledge but she knew what was within the package without ever having to open it.  “There was one more thing.” He said as he pressed at the small holoprojector once more.

A deep and gravelly voice spoke. “Tatooine.”

Recognizing the timbre, she gave a quick nod of acceptance and lifted the lid of the box to confirm her suspicions. She looked at the objects inside that she hadn’t seen in years and closed the lid shut with a quick snap. “Take the cargo ship to Ryloth 2” She said in reference to the moon as she pushed past him in a run.

The Twi’lek looked at her confused once more. “Where are, you going.”

She needed a better ship than the one she had. “Tatooine.” She called out over her shoulder as she ran through the shipping yard wondering how much it would cost her to get the fastest ship out of here.

**

He still remembered exactly how to put on the armor. It almost scared Finn how from the moment he placed it in his hands they seemed to move in rapid succession to secure the armor plating. As much as he wanted to forget about his past as a trooper it was impossible even after all these years.  He looked at the others who were gearing up into the mismatched outfits which they had, Ebby was putting on the black outfit of a TIE trooper, both Poe and Phasma were wearing grey uniforms of mismatched rank. Nothing about any of their outfits was correct, Finn seemed to see every glaring omission clearly but he knew there was no point in saying anything.

The little droid looked up at them all and gave a confusing beep. “Sorry we don’t have time to give you a new paint job.” Poe said as he looked at the BB unit. It beeped back at him disgruntled. “It just means that you are the getaway driver.” He added as he looked at the droid. Its head tilted to one side, as if questioning his logic.

Ebby was strapping a blaster to her leg. “Ready?” She asked as she looked up at them, two people who had turned their backs on the First Order, her and Poe. It seemed like the right kind of a crowd to try and blow up a Star Destroyer or two.

Finn placed the helmet on his head, falling into the strange false vision before him. “Do we have to get all the way up to command?” Phasma asked as she placed the little cap on her head and lowered the brim to hide half of her face.

Ebby shook her head. “We shouldn’t have to. We should be able to set off the sequence from a computer terminal in the hanger. But if they catch onto us they can limit the function down to the bridge.” Finn and Poe both nodded at her but Phasma raised her head to look at her.

“How do you know this?” She asked in a gruff voice.

Ebby looked at her with an expression of strong resilience. For a moment, she considered saying something witty or smart or even firing a round into the woman’s chest in a show of power. But she settled on the truth instead. “Because my mother was a Captain of a Star Destroyer back during the Empire.” She placed the black death like helmet back on her head. “Let’s go.” She added as he walked briskly over to the TIE fighter.

She felt strange revealing information that had in her mind so little do to about herself in the moment. She was afraid to look behind herself and see that no one else was following her but the scampered after her wordlessly. Her mother in truth had hardly spoken about her time in the Empire, but she had said enough that it had given Ebby a decent amount of knowledge which put her at an advantage over others.

Inside the fighter was cramped with four bodies and a droid. The noise inside of the small ship seemed amplified as she clung to the sides, the plane bobbing and weaving through the battle outside. Poe piloted the ship, feeling the strange pull as it moved from side to side sharply. It was like flying without any gravity, the ship moved at just the slightest push in one direction banking hard and fast as they made their way to the cluster of Star Destroyers.

The ships were surrounded by X, A and B wings making attack passed taking out canons and turrets. The triangular ships never seemed meant for sheer intimidation than they did now. Their shieldless TIE fighter protectors crashing into the sides erupting into balls of flames. Poe dogged and weaved as the others called out the incoming fire which he could not managed to see in the limited scopes. He even managed to take out a few fellow TIE’s with the guns, but the flight was quick and panic ridden.

No one had come over the comms to ask for landing codes, that was a sign enough of the state of the First Order. As they slowed down passing through the blue glow of a shield as they came into a landing bay they were greeted with another ten ships taking off.

Behind him the others were preparing their blasters as he set down the TIE fighter. The hatch opened and Ebby popped out still wearing the black helmet her blaster proceeding her as she began to shoot with careful aim taking out any other body standing in the hanger.

“GO, GO, GO.” Poe yelled as he watched Finn pass off BB-8 to Ebby. She practically threw the droid down on the deck and jumped down herself chased after if providing covering fire against those whom she could not have gotten from her vantage point before. Finn and Phasma were up out of the ship and running after her. Poe looked at the controls before him, there were other ships which he could manage to take and he could already see the white figures of storm troopers heading in his direction. He grabbed his blaster and jumped up and out of the ship, firing at it as he ran backward. Four, five rounds into the body of the ship before it exploded behind him. The fire was warm as if swarmed around the bodies of the Storm Troopers turning them into mist as he continued to run his boot pounding into the ground beneath him.

 For a moment, there was silence as they had taken out all the immediate advisories but more would be on the way. Ebby was standing at a terminal typing rapidly and pushing at buttons as BB-8 had one of its arms swirling away in a round socket. The other two were standing with their backs to her, blasters raised and ready to provide more suppressing fire when needed.

“I’m almost there.” She said through the helmet. “I’ll set the timer for three minutes. Look for a ship to get us out of here.” She continued pressing at the buttons. “Come on, come on, come on.” She whispered to herself.

Poe nodded as he looked around the hanger, there was a shuttle. It was large enough and decently fast to try and get them to safety. He reached up to his communicator, hearing it beep back at him pleasantly he was surprised they weren’t jamming communications. Just another indicator of how dire the situation was.

“This is Poe Dameron all Resistance ships need to pull back from-” He looked up at the bright blue light which was coming towards him more rapidly than he could process. Suddenly he had a bad feeling.

**

The sand stretched on for miles. It was all they could see, sand at every corner every twist and turn. The planet bellow had hardly changed. It almost made sense, why in almost thirty years would it have changed. Jabba the Hutt may have been gone but it did ’t mean that someone else hadn’t taken up control of the planet in his absence. It was still just as scared, just as dusty and forgotten as it ever had been, as Tatooine would ever be.

Luke stood looking out at the barren desert which he had grown up on from the view screen. It was strange to be back, it wasn’t really his home any more. It hadn’t been for quite some time now.

“Where should I land?” The Torgruta asked him. He looked down at her nephew at the controls of the large ship. Luke closed his eyes stretching out for guidance. He felt no other strong presences of the Force other than those closest to him. But he knew that it needed to end where it had begun.

As they flew over the stretch of flat sand he looked down. There had once been a structure, towers even rising from the ground bellow, but the planet had taken it back. Sand had washed over where the farm had once stood forty some years previous. He looked down at the homestead which had once been his, swearing he could almost still see the charred bodies of the aunt and uncle who raised him. He had lived there, for nineteen years he had lived in that half-submerged home dreaming of being somewhere else, anywhere else.

Now he had come back to the planet on which he had been raised after seeing so much of the galaxy. He had seen the colors and smelt the smells, he had heard languages which he never knew existed and races which surprised him. He had finally achieved his adolescent dream of becoming worldly, but in the end, he was still the man who had come from Tatooine.

He watched as the sand bellow gave way to canyons and rocky valleys where creatures and beings which once seemed so formidable but now in comparison where laughable lived. He remembered something Han had once said, he had meant it half as a joke, but now it really was true.

He reached over to map pointing at the area, confident in his decision.  “There.” Luke commented as he watched the landscape turn into a desert which he now recognized. Ahsoka said nothing as she lowered down the _Scoundrel_ settling in a cloud of dust.

“Luke” She said calmly as she looked at him, her face lined with wisdom and struggle. She had spent her whole life too fighting against the pull and havoc caused by the Dark Side. She had lived long enough to tell so many stories, to see the Jedi rise and fall twice over and yet miraculously she remained.

He looked at her and gave a small nod of appreciation. “Thank you.” He said softly as he looked at her. She smiled at Luke with an expression of fondness which she occasionally had. Sometimes, he was certain that she looked at him it was really Anakin who she saw.

“For what?” Ahsoka asked her voice youthful to the point of breaking.

He let out a laugh, it almost hurt to laugh. There had been so little to laugh about in the past decade that he hadn’t done it for some time. “Even though he was supposed to teach you…” He took a deep breath. “I think you taught my father too. You were a bright spot in his trouble life, you were a beacon for Ben and Rey, for myself. You truly are one with the Force Ahsoka Tano.” Her smile grew larger for an instant before it disappeared. “Leave me here and take the other back to the plains.” He said as he stood up and gathered an old dusty cloak which would protect him from the sand.

“Luke.” She safe softly turning around in the seat and looking at him with that same fond smile and a tear in her eye. “Even though you didn’t always succeed,” She paused and he almost felt himself turning a shade of red at her truth. “I know your parents would have been proud of all that your fought for and accomplished. I know that I am proud to see the Jedi that you have become.” She exhaled loudly. “Maybe the Force be with you.”

He nodded leaving her alone in the cockpit and he walked away from her, confident that the future would be safe in her hands. He walked through the ship, undisturbed by anyone else other than the trusty blue droid which followed him to the landing hatch. Together he and R2 would return to where they had met.

Leia alone was waiting for him. She said nothing as she looked out at the Jundland Wastes, she herself only having been to the planet a few times in her life. She had listened when she was younger; to her brother complain about having to live in such an environment. She understood his frustrations and his subtle jealousy. Upon their separation, she had been raised in a cushioned environment. She had been the literally princess, he had just been a farm boy. But she had also been fighting for her life and the life of others while he got to play in canyons with his friends. He had been afforded the careless childhood which she never had.

“Are you ready?” She asked as the ramp of the ship lowered to reveal the sea of sand before them.

“Yes.” He breathed as he looked out over the distance. He had been so young and naïve when he had walked this path before. Perhaps he was still naïve, he had been fooled and played at all ages. All he had on his side was a belief that was he was about to do was the right things and he knew his opposition felt the same.

He looked at his sister, at the twin who had led such a different life than his own. “There are many things,” Luke began as he looked at her. “That I wish I don’t differently in life. How I raised my daughter, how my marriage failed, how I tried to rebuild upon the ashes of the Jedi temples. But I…” He paused allowing his hand to hit upon the dome of R2-D2 “I will never regret how I chased after this stubborn droid and rescued you from a prison cell.”

She smiled, lowering her head to look down at her feet as she so often did when she didn’t want someone to see her true expressions. “Neither will I. Even though it was one of the _worst_ rescues I have ever seen.”

He chuckled stepped forward and pulling her into a tight embrace. They had come into the world together, and yet they had walked so much of it apart, sensing one another from a distance. In that moment, they were back to being one. “I love you.” She whispered softly.

“I love you too.” He replied as he pulled back and began to walk down the ramp. Leia waved at him as the ramp rose up and the ship’s engines fired up. The _Scoundrel_ flew away off to fight another battle.

Luke stepped out onto the sand smelling the warm air of Tatooine that had never changed in all the years since he had left. He had left wanting to make a difference, wanting to help save the woman walking beside him. He wasn’t sure he ever really succeeded.

He walked alone his hands ready to grasp onto his lightsaber at any moment as his eyes scoured the upper ridges of the canyon for Sand People but there was nothing to stop his path anymore. He made his way towards the small home which had been hidden inside of the cliff with ease.

Luke looked at the mechanical door, he could tell that inside it had not been disturbed. He stood looking at the doorway and feeling something he had not felt in a very long time.

 _Luke_?

The voice of the man who had been his teacher who had shown him within that very house what he could become. Now he had returned to the home of Ben Kenobi a Jedi knight himself.

“Obi-Wan” He said aloud as he stepped towards the door.

 _Luke_. His name repeated once more, more assured and aware as touched on the panel of the door and stepped into the house. It was as he remembered from his youth touched only by dust and sunlight.

 _Luke_. The voices reached out through the Force. The distinct timbres of those who had long since passed on. He didn’t need their guidance any more, he knew what he needed to do.

 _Luke_. They were calling to him. It was almost time.

**

She had been four when she had been taken from her home. Her mother had taken her into the city, something which she had loved, which she had looked forward to. Mos Eisley was thrilling, full of species which were new to her, smells and sounds which they didn’t have out in the wastelands. It had been another thrilling adventure until she saw the men in white. The storm troopers coming right towards them.

The citizens of the town scattered as their gloved hands grasped not for her mother, but for her. Her mother had tried to fight back, they shot without so much of a warning. She had screamed for help, but no one helped her as the storm troopers dragged her away, as someone shot a needle into her arm to sedate her for the journey.

When she woke up she was in a dark room, all alone the only thing that occupied her was the foul smell of burning and the sensation of cold desperation. She stayed inside that room, alone in isolate only ever receiving meals for at a year. When they let her out, she was already consumed by her anger. The winkled and shriveled man didn’t offer her kindness, her offered her revenge.

The Emperor was a cold and harsh master. He was never fully satisfied with what she did, it was never enough she was never strong enough. So, unlike Vader who followed his commands liked a whipped hound she strove to prove herself. At ten she was already an assassin, slinking through the lowered levels of Coruscant and bringing back her master prizes which she had caught with her unsuspecting charms. By thirteen she had a garrison her commands whenever she pleased, she was making journeys out the Rim silently keeping the dissidence in line in the dead of night. At fifteen she had a ship of her own, she could come and go as she pleased. She was never the Emperors favorites. Palpatine had no favorites, only pawns which he played with so that they never managed to see the other pieces on the board.

She was barely twenty when Endor happened, when the second Death Star exploded. For the first time in her life she was truly left alone, there was no one to tell her what to do, to give her commands. She wandered searching and scoffing at the remnants of Empire. At the men and women whom Palpatine had left behind. He never thought he would die, it was his weakness, he thought he could forever. He was too blind to put a real contingency plan in place, so the Empire faltered. Admirals were captures and killed in the dead of night, there were trails and sentences battle over planets which hardly meant anything. She watched from afar, never engaging, never taking a side. The Empire she had been loyal to had died with Emperor, a little over a year later it died for real. In the skies over Jakku. A planet that never been looked at twice before was now a graveyard for the innovation and ideals of the Empire.

In the weeks after she heard rumors, murmurs in the dark corners of the galaxy which she and grown up in about a cluster of Imperials who had survived, who were hiding where they thought no one would look. She had been disguising herself since before she could read, it was easy to make up the image of battered creature, who communicated from afar. A man, of course it had to be a man, the Empire had never been overly fond of women in leadership roles. A man who like the Empire was hiding, who seemed to know every secret plan and code word. She was the last hand of the Emperor left; she did what she had been raised to do, to succeed him.

But it wasn’t a life, not a safe one not a valuable one. The image of Snoke was powerful, but if she hid in the shadows for too long she would lose touch with the changing galaxy. So, she planned to reenter it, she discovered there was much which she did not know. The New Republic was a fascinating microcosm of what happened when idealism and real politics collided. They were too afraid to be a strong government, too afraid to have an overarching presence. There were cracks in the foundation before a year had passed. But still it continued on under the guise that it was not the Empire, that anything was better than the Empire.

Then she stumbled upon Luke, and idealistic man who was struggling to found something which he had only read about in story books. He had no qualifications to begin training Jedi other than the fact that he and others felt a connection to the Force. She told him who she had been, it explained how she knew to use a lightsaber. She didn’t tell him who she currently was, that she was in communication with the rebranded First Order. He was taken with her, part of her was as well. He had charisma and daring, he acted first and thought second. He wasn’t like the passive Jedi’s whom she had been told of in scorn, he was reckless, they were reckless.

Then, one night after she known him for two years he let the words slip out of his mouth that intrigued her more than anything else. Ben Solo, his sister son was no more than four at the time; but he was strong with the Force, strong like she had been at that age. “Just like his Grandfather.”

She had looked at him with wide eyes as Luke told her, his own eyes clouded over with lust. That his father Anakin Skywalker had been a Jedi before he turned to the Dark Side. That he had become one of the men who was Amara’s tutors, Darth Vader. Luke whispered to her rapidly that she must never anyone. It wasn’t that he himself minded who knew his real parentage, but that it would wreak havoc on his sister’s political career. And she had told him in turn a secret which kept to herself since she was four. That her real name last was Kenobi.

Mutually in awe of one another, they were both too blind to realize that she was playing him and he was trying to change her. Years went by and they lived in ignorant bliss of what the other one was doing. Amara passing on information to the growing First Order, Luke doing his best to turn her into a real Jedi all the while bending the rules for his own selfish gain.

And then, there was Rey.

The little girl they brought into the universe. She was strong in the Force as well, they all were. But she was stronger than most, she could do great things, powerful and great things. Amara had known since before her daughter was ever born what she was capable of. So, when she held her daughter in her arms for the first time she knew then that this was finally the key she had been looking for, the way to bring back the Empire. Rey was the true apprentice she needed to bring the vision of her Masters back.

She thought she was clever, she thought she was safe. That every move she made, every secret transmission she sent as Snoke back to the First Order was hidden. But the truth was outed, he tried to confront her on Coruscant. She fought him off, she was always more ruthless when it came to battles. She cut away at his false hand and left his bruised and bleeding, but Rey was already gone.

Amara tore through the galaxy from end to end search for her daughter. Trying to find her, to find the pull that the Force had around her little girl. She was consumed by her passion, the Jedi way condemned such emotions but her Sith training welcomed them. She killed, she was ruthless but she didn’t find her. Months turned into years, years turned into a decade. Sometimes, when she all alone in the confines of space she cried, wondering if soldiers had taken away her daughter, if they had drugged her as well and locked her up in a dark room.

Then, the universe handed her a present. Ben Solo, taken by the stories of his Grandfather of the machine which had trained Amara. He came on his knees begging to be trained in the ways of the Sith. She welcomed him with open arms, he became the child that she had lost. Kylo Ren, the apprentice she needed.

But he wasn’t Rey. He wasn’t even close. He was flawed, _too_ temperamental to be a Sith, to pulled by the world that raised him, to drawn to the light side. He seemed like only a temporary fix, until the Force proved that he was a stepping stone.

A girl.

An untrained girl, strong with the Force, taken from Jakku.

Jakku. The unknown planet from which the First Order had stolen children to mold into their soilders all those years ago before the Empire had been buried under its sandy surface in its last stand.

Hope filled her.

And her name… was _Rey_.

Kylo Ren failed her at Starkiller, he killed his own father in a show of loyalty but he allowed Rey to escape. But it didn’t matter, suddenly the light of her daughter was visible in the universe once more. She only had to wait until the girl turned on Luke. On the father who never fought for her, Amara understood the feeling her father had never fought for her. He would die to save Luke, to save the Rebellion, but his own child.

Ben turned back to the light and she let him go, she had used him enough as it was. All she had to do was wait, and her own daughter came back to her. Willingly she had chosen her mother over Luke. Amara had stood in the old Imperial Palace, in the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant and had been filled with more joy than ever before as Rey walked towards her.

Finally, after years she had her apprentice, she had her child back. She was whole once more, watching in admiration as her daughter grew stronger, grew more relentless. Rey became her right hand, as it was meant to.

It didn’t matter that her identity as Supreme Leader Snoke had been revealed, it always been a necessary shadow for her to hide behind. It mattered that she had Rey. That they were flying back to another desert planet to end the Jedi once and for all.

Amara looked out of the window upon the sand of the planet she had been born. Tatooine she had never gone back since they had taken her away. There had been no point, her mother was dead her father never came after her. Luke had lived here too, not far from where she had lived at the same time even. Luke had been all that anyone had ever spoke of, the object of her father’s watchful eye, of Darth Vader’s machinations, of the Emperors plans. Luke had been the one they focused on, but she had been the one to continue on the legacy of the Empire.

“Mother.” Amara smiled at the sound of her child’s voice as she turned away from the view screen.

“Rey,” She breathed softly as she stepped forward and clasped at her child’s gloved hands. The mechanical one was awkward in her grasp. She silently cursed the men who had placed her in harm’s way, had things gone to plan her daughter would still be whole. She looked up into her brown eyes. “I know you will succeed in your mission.”

“I know I will, too.” Rey replied. “I have seen it.”

“Good.” Amara replied softly. She remembered how harsh her masters had been, she had tried to be that way, not with Ben and certainly not with Rey. She looked up into the youthful eyes seeing the trouble within them. “What is it?”

Rey closed her eyes. “I sense… trouble.”

Amara nodded, closing her eyes. She could feel it too. The military of the First Order was failing at the Sluis Shipyards, they could come out of the battle with hardly any fire power. But Amara had never really cared about having control over the entire galaxy. She wanted control over her own life, she wanted control of the Force. The First Order, The Empire had given her political power, but that wasn’t the power she sought.

“I understand.” She said breathlessly. “You will be tested by the power of the Force.” She said as she pulled her child in closer, her hand resting against the back of the girl’s neck. “But you are strong, I have made sure of that. I know you will make the right choice.

 

 


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Poe opened his eyes in a daze, he could feel the bump already growing on his head. Someone had hit him squarely from behind not that it mattered too much when he had also been stunned. He could remember seeing the blue light coming towards him, what had happened since then had been an unconscious adventure. Upon opening his eyes, he found that the world around him was still a blur. He saw dark shapes and bright lights but little else. He tried to move his arms, to reach for a blaster or a communicator but his hands had been bound behind his back, a sharp pain in his legs tell him he was on his knees.

He looked up at the darkest shape a head of his. “Isn’t this how we met?” Poe said his sense of humor a strong coping mechanism in his unknown surrounding.

The familiar yet distorted laugh from the blur on his right told him that Finn was by his side. Slowly the world around him became clearer, rough outlines of things he could make out. The four of them were on their knees, hands tied behind their backs as an Admiral paced up and down.

Poe looked, both Ebby and Finn still had their helmets on, there was no blasters in their face or pressed up against their necks. Whoever had captured them had not figured out that they were an enemy infiltration. If they had they would have been killed on sight. He blinked, wishing he could rub his eyes, they were on the bridge of a Star Destroyer.

“I know.” Ebby whispered under her helmet in the softest possible tone as if reading his mind. “They haven’t run ID yet.” She added.

He looked up at the tallest figure of authority, the man had his back turned to them, barking orders at someone else at the moment. Poe scooted towards Ebby. “Did you get stunned?”

He watched the black helmet jerk back and forth. “Just you and her.” She said softly. “The droid is going to make a distraction.” He nodded his head, surprised not in BB’s choice of providing their cover but that the droid was able to avoid capture along with the rest of them. “Be ready.” She added. Her tanned face was slowly becoming clearer, Poe saw the look of determination on her face. She had come to the Destroyer for one purpose and she was going to follow through on her plan.

Poe leaned forward turning his head to look at Phasma. She still had her hat pulled down over her head, but she caught his eyes and gave a nod to indicate that she was on the same side.

“What do you need?” Poe whispered into the black helmet again.

There was a swift tilt of her head to one of the control panels behind then near the door. “Access to the central control.”

He took a heavy breath, feeling his heart beating rapidly inside of his chest. He leaned towards Finn, “Get ready.” He whispered as the man in a dark Admirals uniform turned to look at them.

“Admiral Windrider.” A small voice called out behind them. “There are the ones we found in the hanger at the computer terminal.”

Admiral Nash Windrider had greying brown hair. He faces was even and symmetrical, unblemished by any scars or severe markings. His jawline was still sharp though there were lines now around his eyes and lips. At one point in time he had likely been an attractive looking man, but at the moment he just looked severely annoyed.

He sighed as he placed his hands behind his back and looked down at them. “This is not the time for your grand exit from the service.” He said as he looked at them. Poe looked up at the man, he was old enough that he had likely served in the Empire. He could tell from the way he was walking up and down looking at them like a disapproving parent that he was a loyalist to the core. “This is a chance for a great stance, a sigh of our power. Whatever you think you are attempting is pointless.”

He gave a small wave of his hand, and both Ebby and Finn had their helmets forcibly removed. They blinked in the brightness compared to the dark virtual reality within their buckets. But their eyes both quickly adjusted to the light. Finn looked up at the pontificating man and rolled his eyes. He was continuing on with their possibly punishments and demerits. The Admiral looked down at stopped, looking at Ebby his face paling in astonishment.

“Ciena?” He whispered as he looked at her. Ebby shook her head, recognizing her mother’s name on the man’s lips.

There was a sharp curdling sound of a crack of bones. The Admiral ignored the sound as he continued to look at Ebby, ignorant of the battle beyond the window. Phasma was up on her feet, her broken left hand hanging limply at her side while her still blinded right reached for the nearest blaster.

There was sharp red laser fire as she took five well aimed shots taking down the nearest troopers and officers. The bridge door opened and BB-8 came rolling in emitting a mechanically war cry as it began to shock and paralyze any one in his sight. The droid stooped behind their backs buzzing at the binders and opening the clasps. They stood to their feet, pulling at whatever weapons were nearest.

The only person left standing was Windrider. He looked at them stunned, to taken with the young woman before him who seemed impossible to watch as the other known enemies of the organization which he had pledged his life to move around the bridge closing off doors and beginning to pull up a sequence which he recognized.

“Did you find it?” Finn asked as over his shoulder looking at his husband and their droid as he began to blast control panels which were no longer needs.

“Step aside, I know the protocol.” Phasma said as she pushed him aside with her shoulder. She gave a wince of pain but it was the only sign of weakness she showed as she tapped in protocols. She hadn’t needed to break her hand to get out of the cuffs, she could have waited for the droid but she was ready to get it over with. “Kriff, I need a captain code.”

Klaxons and warning lights were going off all around them as unmanned stations screamed out for attention. “Poe?” Finn called out once more.

“Yeah but we need a passcode. Kriff…. Ebby?” He called out looking at the woman who was still on her knees, a gun which someone hand handed off to her in her hands as she looked at man before her. She didn’t really know who he was, she had heard the name mentioned maybe once or twice in her life, and yet he was staring at her as if he had known her since she was born. “Kyrell!” Poe cried out.

She snapped to life, as the man before her crumbled to the floor. “Kyrell.” He whispered as he looked up at her. “You’re...you’re not part of the First Order.”

She looked at him shaking her head. “Why would I be?” She stammered over the sound of sirens.

Ebby rose to her feet as she looked at the man. His world was crumbling all around him. Everything he had done, every step he had taken in the idea of rebuilding the Empire had been done for a woman whom he thought had died for the Empire. But she hadn’t, she had lived, her daughter stood before him now. The girl before him was a specter, taunting him with doubt over the life he had lead.

She turned the blaster setting and pointed it at him. “This is your ship.” She said so certain. “What’s the code?” She yelled at him, resolute in her choice.

“I did it for her.” He stammered as he looked up at her “To keep her memory alive, to honor her legacy… but she…she lived?”

Ebby took a step forward aiming with the blaster towards his chest. _Not yet._ She thought to herself. He deserved to know the truth, the fragments of it which she knew. “Her ship crashed onto Jakku. My father was there, he had boarded her ship. He pulled her into an escape pod, they landed on the surface she spent five years in a New Republic prison. She stood trial, she gave them what information she had and she was later released. They were married a month after her release and have lived on a little moon ever since. She regrets it, her time in the Empire and she never stood for the First Order either.”

She raised the blaster stunning him squarely in the chest with a blast strong enough to knock him out for an hour. She turned and looked at Phasma at the controls. “Ciena.” She said as she looked at her. “The passcode is Ciena.”

There was a positive chirp as the final wall of security was taken down. “We’re in.” Poe said as he looked at the screen. Then he frowned. “There’s no delay.” He paused. “We could set the ship on a crash course or…”

“GO!”

They turned and looked at her with surprise. “GO.” Phasma said again as she scrolled down to the self-destruct code. “Take five minutes, go find a ship and get away. Nothing good will happen to me if I survive this, but you can still change so things in the universe. Go.” She said as she began to push them aside.

“I won’t forget this.” Poe said as he looked at her. BB-8 was already halfway down the corridor.

“Please do.” She said in reply. “This doesn’t even begin to right what I have done.” She stammered.

They didn’t need to be told twice. They ran through the corridors, time running through their minds as they stood impatiently in lifts cursing the sheer size of the ship they had to escape from.

Poe was screaming into his communicator as the others providing covering fire taking down any person or droid which passed their view. “Pull all fighters back from the cluster of Destroyers. They’re going to blow in five minutes. Repeat, pull all fighters back!”

 The doors were opening to a different hanger from which they had been captured. Ebby was running towards the first ship that she saw, a small cargo ship which had no guns but was unused in the battle. She was running up the ramp, BB-8 rolling after her sitting down in the jump seat and pushing at buttons which she hardly seemed to recognize in her panic. Poe sat down next to her, still screaming into his communications relay as he helped with the takeoff, Finn standing at the back blaster at the ready as they took off, giving the small craft all the speed it had hoping it would be enough.

**

The suns were setting as the ship landed in the small town. Jessika didn’t know if it was where she needed to be, the planet was large and vast. She had been given nothing else other than a name of a planet, a name and two ancient weapons.

But as she landed in the city surrounded by the creatures and begins which called Tatooine their home Jessika moved into the shadows, clutching onto the box which held the two lightsabers inside and closed her eyes. The Force was in them all, she had once heard that said more than once, she just needed to allow it to awaken within her.

Calm washed over. She let go of her expectations towards her desired outcome and focused on where she needed to be. The location became clear. She opened her eye determined and set off to find a speeder.

**

His eyes were closed and yet his mind was not still. He could still sense the world around him, the howling of the wind through the canyon, the creatures which had taken up residence in the abandoned homestead. Life was all around him, most of it ignorant to the strong undercurrent which was controlling it all. The Force was strong.

Luke could hear footsteps outside a sole figure approaching. He reached out in his mind to the approaching traveler but he only felt a darkness. The knowledge saddened him.

He had once loved her; he had admired in awed in her powers. She had been taught in the way of the Sith, her use of the Force was brutish and severe and yet there was a primal energy to it. In the beginning, they had sparred one another to keep their skills sharp; the last two trained in the Force one in the pedestal of the light the other in the pit of darkness. But there was always a deeper meaning in their playful batting, a desire and jealousy of the others skills. A passion which slowly turned from hatred to romance. Their relationship had been passionate and brutal, more about physical desires and sensations than their personal compatibility. They had never been a pair to talk about their opinions or feelings but rather the first two to volunteer on a dangerous mission. In hindsight, they would have never worked out to begin with, those weren’t the sorts of things which created a lasting relationship. He still loved her, he still awed at her powers, but now he was disappointed that Amara had not changed from the woman he first met all those years ago, she was still wrapped up in darkness. So much so that the light which was once at her center was nearly extinguished.

They had been so similar and yet so different. The children of Jedi, taken from their families and raised in isolation. And yet they had been pushed down the dual sides of the same path. He had tried to change her, and he had failed. He still had hope for Rey, he still saw that his daughter could walk both paths, she could still be bathed in the light even though she had chosen the darkness. He knew that there was goodness within her, there had to be. Or else all those years she spent growing up as no one had been for nothing.

The familiar stranger had almost completed their approach. Luke slowly opened his eyes, becoming accustomed to the light of the world around him. He took a single low calming breath accepting the will of the Force in the outcome of his life.

The door slid open and he looked at the silhouette of the cloaked figure in the doorway. She did not move from her place in the desert. Luke rose to his feet slowly walking out to meet her. With every step, he walked closer and closer but the face behind the hood was still shrouded as the figure in black awaited him.

He stopped mere paced from her, the door to the abandoned house closing behind him with a soft thud as the wind took over. It swirled around them both, pulling at each of their long cloaks but they ignored the force of nature trying to keep them apart.

His hand slipped to his side, resting a finger on the edge of his lightsaber. He wasn’t as quick as he once had been, but he was determined. He watched as her hand moved into the folds of her cloak as well, resting on the hilt of a lightsaber which he did not recognize.

The wind blew at strong gust as them and the hood over the woman’s head flew back. Luke looked at the youthful face and dark hair of his daughter.

His lips curled up in the beginnings of a smile. After all this time Amara still couldn’t bring herself to face him on her own. She had sent in Rey in her last act of vengeance. He looked at her. Her face was steely, intimidating but it was false.  Luke knew that. He could call out to her, he could call her on her bluff. He could stand up and fight.

But he knew that he had done enough, that a victory would mean nothing. He had tried to change a galaxy, in so many ways he had succeeded but he had also failed. An image flashed before his eyes, an image that once used to haunt his waking moments and his dreams. But now he saw it for what it was, a final act of courage, the end of a legacy.

Rey ignited the twin red blades of her lightsaber and began her charge forward in attack. A growl of primal anguish escaping her lips as she raised her weapon high. Her eyes were conflicted on the order she had, but she would follow them through. The consequence of her failure would be her own death.

Luke closed his eyes; remembering the girl he had once held, the woman who had found him on an island. That was how he chose to remember her, who she was. He could almost see in the shallows of his mind who she could become if she was guided in the right way. He had done enough, he told himself. He had fought for those who needed his help, he had done good. He had done…done his best.

The Force was with him.

The blade drew down towards the sand, finding resistance for a brief moment. Now Luke was one with the Force.

Rey looked down at the crumpled pile of clothes and the lone lightsaber which had been left behind. She bent down into the sand, grasping at the hilt of the weapon which had belonged to her father. She felt something as she touched it, as strange feeling as if her body was revolting against her. She shook it aside as a minor wave of grief, but it was more than that. It was the little part of her brain which had been gnawing on her for years, coming back once more to raise its head and attempt to voice an opinion on the choices she was making.

It didn’t matter now, Luke Skywalker was dead. The First Order had almost won.

**

And then, she was alone.

Leia felt the wave of sadness and isolation wash over her. She knew that the other part of her, that Luke was gone.

She had expected it to be a crushing revelation. So many of the other deaths of those whom she had loved and outlived had been as such a moment of sadness. But there was something different about the passing of her brother, he was gone but he was still there. His presence could still be felt.

He had died, but it had been for something more. It had been for the benefit of what was about to come.

There were lights in the distance, lights of approaching ships. They stood on the ridge, the long expanse of sand and nothingness before them, waiting for the First Order to arrive. Three of them, though they did not call themselves true Jedi had lightsabers.

It was a strange way to hold a battle. A more antiquated almost dignified means of fighting of eras long past. It was civilized, they would wait until the ships had landed until their soldiers created a formation and began to march towards. There would be no unexpected attacks for the moment, no traps laid. It was the way battles had been done before they had created star ships to attack from above or explosives to lay in wait.

The battle between the light and dark side was an ancient one, it seemed only fitting they used the ancient ways.

Leia looked across at the rest of the small group who would take part in the battle the few soldiers which they had brought were in black armor weapon at their ready looking to the sky at the few First Order ships were landing. They were ground soldiers, ready to fight she knew they would do their job without hesitation. She looked instead at her son and the Togruta next to him.

Ahsoka’s head was bent, a wince across her almost painted face. It sent a shiver down Leia’s spine. She had always seen the woman as kind, caring, a leader. From the very first time that she had ever come across her to even now, it seemed impossible to Ahsoka Tano to ever be broken. But that was lie. Ahsoka had been broken in more than one way or another over the years. From leaving the Jedi Order, from the battles of Mandalore, to seeing the Jedi rise and fall again and again. She was broken at the knowledge of Luke’s death. As if she had possibly failed him in some way.

She didn’t have the wisdom or foresight of Yoda, but she knew she hadn’t failed Luke. This was part of his larger path. The raised her head as the light slipped behind the final distant mountain, this was the end she knew it.

She turned and caught Leia’s eyes, nodding in a reassuring manner. This was what was meant to be.

Leia turned her head and looked at her son. Ben was wearing black as well, an outfit that looked similar to the strange robes he had worn turning his darker time. His face was twisted in agony, Leia could reach out and feel the turmoil within him. He assumed it was his fault, that he had driven Rey to the dark side, that because of his actions Luke was now another added to the list of people who he had helped kill. The man who had been his teacher, whom he had cared about, was gone.

She reached out and took a hold of his arm. “It’s not your fault.” She said as she looked up at him. He looked down at his mother’s face, it was kind and caring but he was finding it hard to believe her. “This is what was meant to be.” She said as she looked up at him, pleading to for him forgive himself.

He looked at the ships landing, at the lights shining from the helmets of their adversaries. He had never forgiven himself. Other had, countless others had forgiven him and placed their trust in him in the past four years, but Ben had never forgiven himself for the man he allowed himself to be manipulated into becoming. He had always assumed that with more and more accomplishments, that by saving more people, by doing more goods he would alleviate his pain. He had simplified it to a sliding scale, points towards the light and points towards the dark. But that wasn’t the case, no matter what he did to try and make the universe better it wouldn’t correct the thoughts he had in his mind.

It wasn’t actions that would allow him to forgive himself. The actions that he took in this battle wouldn’t be enough to begin to justify himself either, he knew that but it was a start.

The lights were growing closer, approaching in a cloud of dust as the sands of Tatooine rose up around them, ready to be shaken. Ben looked at the men and woman standing, ready to fight, this was it, they had to win.

The attack came quicker than anticipated.

The shots of blaster fire broke through the calm of the night and the gentlemanly stance the Resistance Fighters had. Stormtroopers were firing, taking well placed and accurate shots, the little cover which the rocks and ridges planet provided was used as feet scrambled in the sand to gain a little ground.

Ben found himself wading through the sea of blaster fire and bodies hitting the ground. The attacks were merciless and without tactic. Shots taken on all sides as the faceless bodies fell to the ground. There were some trying to protect him, a few of the guard had formed around him silently mirroring as he made his way through the storm troopers but it didn’t matter, they were falling as well. He spun around feeling the heavy weight of his clothes as he looked to see his own personal targets.

Yet neither Amara nor Rey was anywhere to be seen. He had expected as much, one of them had been the hands holding the blade which had torn through Luke. But he had hoped that they would have the courage to face him. Then again, he was reminded as he twisted past another falling body the dust rising up to fill his lungs wracking him with a violent cough, the Dark Side was the easy way. Placing one’s self in the center of a battle had never earned any Sith Lords recognition, on the contrary the old Imperial archives were full of mentions of how too involved many had felt that Vader had personally been in hunting down the adversaries of the Emperor.

He raised the blaster in his hand and began to fire without much aim. He had never been fond of blasters, much to his father’s disappointment. Aiming felt like a waste of time and energy, and the weapon had always felt cold in his hands, and yet he looked at his arm strangely raised and the beams of energy shooting from the weapon. He still had it in his hands rather than his lightsaber, he was still holding back.

 _Too afraid to act._ A voice nagged in his head.

He shook his head violently as he jumped over another fallen body, the dust had risen to the level of a sandstorm making seeing allies let alone enemies nearly impossible. He coughed once more, cursing himself at not bringing a helmet of sorts.

_Use the Force, Ben._

The voice of his uncle from his childhood came flooding back to him. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t see with his eyes. There was another way.

He threw the blaster to the ground and stood still, reaching out and sensing what was around him. Stormtroopers, more of them coming in by the minute, surrounding them on all sides. He could sense his mother, still up on the ridge firing away from her shrinking vantage point growing ever more desperate. Ahsoka was spinning and moving gracefully as her white blades sliced through the sand and the armor of enemies. The sand was becoming littered with more and more bodies, the count almost equal but the battle was not over.

Darkness was closing in.

He could sense her presence, his former teacher making her way to the battle with her small legion of soldiers. He could imagine the anger in her eyes as she made her approach, her every step fueled by the limitation which he and his family had placed on her aspirations. Her feet were sinking into the sand, each step more desperate as she found the anger within her growing as she approaching the battle.

He turned in his place, feeling the weight of his clothes once more as he saw the beam of a red lightsaber cutting through the haze. The blade moved, its guiding hand unseen as it cleared a path towards him. She came in a mass of black, her dark Sith robes billowing behind her in the wind as she looked at the battle before her. Amara’s head tilted left and right viewing the destruction around her with a neither satisfied or pleased expression. Her free hand rose and with a slow waving motion the sand storm settled.

Stillness fell across those still standing as the sight of the battlefield became clear. Bodies were lying in the sand scattered so thick and even they looked like crop seeds spread across a field for planting. The suns were nearly set, and the moon was on the rise the desert awash with pale light. There were less than ten Resistance fighters still standing each of them rising their weapons to focus on twice the number of Stormtroopers. Ahsoka was moving slowly, her feet shifting as she turned ready to attack Amara, but she waited her eyes drifting upwards.

Leia was alone on the ridge, her eyes gazing upon the horizon through the lenses of a scanner. He looked up at his mother for a moment, knowing what she saw. He could hear the distant whine of the speeder approaching.

In the brief moment of silence a single breath seemed to take a lifetime. When in reality hardly any time passed at all. _Pew_. The hiss of a blaster as the shots began once more. The green and red beams of fire filled the twilight once more as the firefight began again.

Everything was a test. That had always been the way of the Sith. Amara Kenobi stood with her red lightsaber drawn its blood red tip scorching the sand bellow waiting for one of them to test her. The apprentice who had failed her stood before her while the fallen apprentice of her master stood behind.

The first sun dipped below the horizon, leaving only a green flash in its wake. Ahsoka moved forward each step more of a leap into the sky as her white blades trailed behind her. Her right arm swung forward to attack, her left pulling behind her instinctively. She knew she was the better fighter that she had more experience than the other woman before her. The Torgurta’s feet landed into the sand less than a meter away from the other woman as she began her attack. She knew her blow would land as her arm moved gracefully. An icy calm washed over her.

It was time. She had done enough, she could see the stars around her the swirling colors of the galaxy reflecting back in the white glow of her lightsabers. She had avenged her master, she had done all she could to protect the Force and those who felt it like she did. She had seen so many Jedi and potential Jedi die before her eyes, she had outlived them all.  She had often wondered why, in her many decades. Why she had been chosen to survive and not someone else.

Now she knew, she had lived on long enough to keep the traditions and the legacy of the Jedi alive, now she could pass on. Ahsoka lowered her arms slightly looking up towards the stars, her mind at peace as she saw the red light flick upwards before her eyes.

He watched as the figure of the woman floated away with the wind. Ahsoka was gone. He was all that was left now, there was no one who would fight his battle against Amara for him anymore.

Ben took a step forward and looked at the woman before him. She drew her lightsaber into a ready position, the red light cast onto her face making her look far older than she really was. She looked at him, her eyes hardened with determination.

“It doesn’t have to be this way.” She said as she looked at him. “You could join me again, you could come back. The last of the Jedi have been defeated, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker.” She said with a wave of her free hand. “What makes you think you can defeat the Dark Side?”

Ben looked at her. Behind her the fighting was on the lasts of its legs. There had been no cover to hide in, no advantage for any side to take as they met out in the open. The bodies littering the sands declared the fighting to a tie, from an outside eye it would have appeared to been a useless expression of force. His mother was still standing, he could hear the sound of the speeder approaching from across the desert, and a new sound of an approaching ship.

He looked up at Amara. He had known her more intimately than he had known either of his parents. She had shaped his life and his choices, she had trusted him as her second in command. Yet she had never cared about him, he had spent so much of his own anger trying to be praised from her, to be seen as intelligent in her eyes. Yet he never would be, he was a step, a replacement for the child who had been taken from her, an apprentice who she never had truly wanted. She was strong, but her strength came from hatred. He was strong too.

“I can’t.” He said as he looked at her. For a moment, she smiled, as if she had won. She didn’t understand what he was saying, she didn’t think of the greater implications of his simple words. She had never in her corrupted life thought of the considerations of others. Every move had been done to gain the power which she and she alone wanted. He couldn’t defeat the Dark Side, but Ben Solo didn’t want to defeat the Dark Side.

He took his lightsaber in his hands for the first time since the battle had begun on Tatooine. He dug his feet into the sand, in a stance which had been taught to him since he was old enough to stand on his own. The yellow blade, the mark of the sentinels, the protectors of the Force and the Jedi Order shone before him. Amara looked at it, shaking her head at the old way which failed to die.

“So be it your fall.” She whispered as she lunged forward in an attack.

Ben twisted in a block, countering her easily. He had speed and youth on his side, but she was angry and determined. She leaned forward to attack again, her blade arching high above his head as he rose to match her. The red and yellow sparked the energy from the two blades pulling at the contradictory will of their masters.

“You were a horrible apprentice.” Amara spat at him as she began another series of swinging attacks. He lept backwards blocking them all with ease as if it were just a training exercise. “You were a horrible leader as well. Needing a mask to elicit fear, needing lies to justify your tantrums.” She said as she swung forward. He contained to block her every move. “You were a puppet.” She yelled at him as she swung her blade violently, kicking sand up into the air.

Ben side stepped her, watching as she caught her breath, her eyes were dark and full of passion knowing that every word she had spoken out in slander against him could be applied to her as well. He said nothing as he watched her seething with anger.

“You could never bring back the Empire!” She yelled at him as she stabbed towards him once more. Her fighting style had never been an elegant one, it had always been rough dependent on short jabs and throwing off her own balance for the sake of an attack. He had been sparring with her since he was a child, he knew the best way to disarm her.

He fainted a step to the left allowing her lunge forward as he dodged to the right. She had always favored fighting with her lightsaber in just one hand, something which Luke had always warned him against. With the hilt of his own saber he stabbed at her hand, feeling the heat of her blade close to his as he took a hold of her right arm. Twisting her arm with one hand and stabbing at the fingers clutched around the black hilt with the other he Forced her lightsaber out her hand with a thought sending it scattering across the sand as he held onto her firmly.

She looked up into his eyes, fear flashing in them for a brief moment. “Kylo...” She said softly, her tone trying to take back all that she had said and done to him over the decades in an attempt to save her own life. “Kylo, come back.”

He was reminded of the face of his father, pleading with him to come back. He had in time done what his father had asked, but it had been too late for Han Solo, just as it was too late for Amara now. He would never forgive himself, no matter how many actions he took which began to right the wrongs which he had allowed to continue on in the universe.

The yellow blade radiated as it dove into her body. Death could only be expected and yet her eyed filled with shock as she looked at the young man before her. He pulled his lightsaber away as her body fell slack and returned to the sands of the planet on which she had been born.

The whine of speeder and the roaring engines of the ship were about to converge. Ben Solo looked down at the deceased follower of the Sith, feeling the change in the air around him.

With a gentle hiss, rain began to fall on the desert planet.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

There was another rattle as the sky filled with bright colors once more. Poe turned his head to see the last remaining Star Destroyer tearing into pieces. The hanger erupted with cheers and hugs as the members of the Resistance celebrated their victory. The ships were flying back into the hanger at an increasing rate, there was no need to stay when there were no more enemies left.

Poe looked around at the faces of the men and women who he knew and who he didn’t know. They were all filled with joy, impossible joy at the sight of seeing the remaindered of the fleet destroyed. It was the type victory which he had heard his parents talk of in fond voices when he was younger. The sort of a victory he had long ago prepared himself to never see. Yet here they were, the sounds all around them telling them that this wasn’t a dream.

The events of the battle would take years to unravel fully, Poe himself was still in a daze of how he had managed to get back. He could remember escaping from the Star Destroyer, at firing at anything that moved and yelling into his communications to clear their ships from the area before the self-destruct sequence was set, but the finer details were still a haze.

He felt a large warm hand slip into his and he looked at Finn, who was smiling at him as he leaned in for a large kiss. It fit with what everyone else in the hanger seemed to be doing.

“Is the war over?” A small naïve little voice called out. He looked at Ebby still wearing an Imperial flight suit, the top portion unzipped and pulled down around her waist exposing her undershirt.

The couple looked at one another, this had only been half of the battle, they had heard nothing yet from anyone else. “Not yet.” He replied.

**

The rain kept pouring down. The water kept pelting down from the sky crashing loudly into the armor of the soldiers beside her as the sandy desert quickly turned into a pit of mud.

The rain slid off of Rey's cap as she turned her head to look through the mist to call out to a few more of her troops which way to run or where to finish off the last remaining enemy soldiers. The bodies of the dead and injured alike were beginning to seep down into the mud, forming piles and dotting the field, as the cries of half dying creatures rang out in her ears. The salty scent of blood was beginning to mix with the warm and earthy wet ground as she turned her head, hearing the large drops off rain sizzling as they made contact with her lightsaber.

For a moment, everything on the battle field was still as she looked and sat the signs of the Resistance close to defeat.

There was only two left now, she could sense them both. The mother on the ridge, watching from afar as she had her whole life, disengaged just enough so that she managed to survive the encounter. And her son, standing in the mud still and at a peace in his meditation finally accepting the role which had been placed on him since before his birth.  

Her head snapped as she heard feet running through the mud. From over the ridge of the field, past the long line of bodies which were beginning to form she saw the outline of figure moving past Leia. The dirty troopers at her side paused as the fighter in mismatched armor fighter walked down the wet hill towards the muddy field of bodies and down into the mess of the dead. They had a blaster drawn aiming but not yet firing as the lone figure pushed past the sentinel Jedi.

For a moment, there was silence as the rain pounded down upon the wet sand as heads turned trying to make sense of what was happening before chaos rang out.

She had seen it before. In the dream years ago, the man in the mask had been looking down at her as his shoulders rose and fell with each shaky breath. It had been the delusions of a scared an uneducated woman, she rose her head to look at the changed scene. Perhaps it was always meant to be different, perhaps she had taken the steps in her own life to change the outcome of the vision she had once had.

The chatter of the Stormtroopers ran out in her ears. The legion looked at the outline of the knight they once followed remaining behind and the woman who they currently bowed down too as the unknown figure approached.

"It’s a trap." Rey called out her own voice echoing back to her in her own ears through the communicator. "It's not really him. It's just an imposter. Focus on the Jedi, take him down." She pointed with a gloved hand at the shadowy figures who stood remaining in place.

The Stormtroopers raised their weapons and began to fire. She saw the ignition of the distant yellow blade blocking and sending the bursts of light back into the troops which had fired them. Three of the troopers feel down dead. The remaining four fired with renewed vigor yet the distant man raised his hand reaching out with the Force and dropping the figures into the mud.

Rey was alone, just as she always had been. Isolation had always been her strength rather than her weakness. She reached for her lightsaber once more igniting the long crimson staff.

Through the darkness of the oncoming night she watched as the running figure stopped closing the distance between her and her cousin. Shaking hands reached up and removed the helmet, under the moonlight she saw the broken face of Jessika Pava.

The woman looked at her, her eyes filled with disappointment and anger. Her face was scared, her hair was carelessly shorn short, her eyes seemed red from drinking and yet she stood her ground in the rain looking at Rey, standing in her way.

“Kill me.” Jessika said as she took a step towards the woman she had once loved so deeply. “If you have truly gone to the Dark Side then I mean nothing to you.” Rey said nothing in reply as she watched the woman walk closer and closer drawn to the red of her lightsaber. “Kill me, and then go wipe out the last Jedi.”

 Rey looked at her, as the rain continued to pour down turning everything into mud and mess. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go. Jessika wasn’t supposed to be here, it was just supposed to be Ben. She could defeat him easily, but the woman standing in her way was unmoving.

“KILL ME!” Jessika yelled over the pour rain as she beat at her chest in frustration, looking at the woman who was refusing her last request. “You already have Rey. You destroyed my soul the day that you walked away and never returned.” She took another step forward so that the red light from the lightsaber was cast now onto Jessika’s feet as she looked into the hollowed eyes of the woman she loved. “Do it.” She said softly as she bent down into the wet sand bowing her head in preparation for execution. “Please.”

Rey looked at the woman’s bare neck, the drops of rain were falling upon her skin beating down herb back and soaking her clothes. Tatooine was about to drown under the rain if it did not stop. Rey looked at Jessika approaching death with her head down. Part of Rey wanted to jump, to strike at the woman before her. The mangled voice in her ear of her mother and all the other agents of darkness which had spoken to her in the last three years were telling her to leap forward and slice through Jessika as painlessly as she had sliced through unnamed citizens all across the galaxy.  The act of raising her lightsaber and bringing it down wasn’t hard at all. But something else was swirling around her, a feeling a sensation, a knowledge which clawed at her leaving a pit of doubt in her stomach.

She watched as Jessika raised her head, wondering why death had not come for her yet. “Can’t you do it? Haven’t you killed enough that no longer question the weight of the act upon your soul?” She reached into her pocket and threw down two silver lightsaber hilts into the sand. “You want motivation, kill me over these. They belonged to you once, surely you still want them.”

Rey’s hand moved for the first time as she looked down at her. “Is this what you want?” The words escaped her lips softly. Jessika nodded.

Her arms lifted high above her head in a well-practiced swing as she focused on the lowered neck which was her target. Emotions came running back to her, she remembered the first time she had noticed Jessika glancing at her passion in her eyes. The laughter they had shared, the small touches. The first time they had kissed, the first time they had felt once another physically shake from the connection between them. It had been so long ago, such a brief period in their lives. Rey had buried under her hatred for how the universe had abandoned her, Jessika had allowed it to drive her to madness. It meant nothing to them now other than the vivid memories in the otherwise dark war filled life.

Rey began to lower her arms her blade moving quickly. It would be over in an instant, just like most other things in life.

She closed her eyes, unable to forget the first kiss they had shared in the shuttle. Her whole body had been filled with happiness, a blissful tingling which she had not managed to replicate since.

She felt the light swing through the air, landing with a soft hiss into the sand.

“Rey?”

The voice was faint and distant. She was sure that it was in her head, she could feel the heat of her lightsaber turning the cold air warm as it still remained burning a hole in the sand. “Rey.” The voice called out again.

She was cold. Every single part of her was cold from her hands to her face she was shivering from how cold she felt. Yet warmth was all around her, swirling around her and trying to encompasses her if she would only just allow it to. The warmth was a weakness, it was a trick of the Force, that was what she had been lead to believe after her years of training. But now she was all alone, and it was calling to her once more.

“Rey?” She opened her eyes and looked down at Jessika’s face. “Rey.” She spoke again unable to say anything other than her name as she looked up at the woman who had tried and failed to kill her.

But Rey could say nothing in reply as she looked at the woman who she still felt pulled to, of all the things in the universe she had managed to destroy, for all her dullen senses she was still able to feel the guiding tug of love.

A sharp voice broke out over the sounds of rain “You don’t have to do this.” Rey turned and looked at the man who was still standing feeling hatred rise up as she looked at him. She had been conditioned to hate him, it hadn’t always been that way. A part of her could remember the times when they had been younger and things had been different.

She turned and looked at him, without his mask without his guise of a dark lord he seemed small and almost worthless. “Stay out of this traitor.” She yelled at him. He bowed his head, not hurt but almost amused by her words.

Anger rose up within her as she looked at the laughing man before her. This had been his fault, had he not tried to change the course of history, had he not hidden her away when she was a child they would have never ended up standing in the downing dessert on the planet of their ancestors. She couldn’t let him stand there mocking her. She picked up her lightsaber from the sand and charged towards him.

His yellow blade clashed with her red one. She winced seeing the weak color of the blade, a tribute to the past to the ways of an order which was long gone. Everything about him was a relic of what was long gone, from the robes he wore to the way in which he fought. There was no point in trying to revive the old ways, not when the new ways could be better.

Rey twisted her body, her lightsaber following along with her as she used the long double sided blade like her favored staff. She had only gotten better at fighting since their last encounter, the blades clashed sending fractured beams of light into the sky as the swirled around one another. They weren’t children angrily stabbing at one another anymore, they were the last of their kind fighting for survival.

Ben was only blocking, jumping over the bodies and the rocks, the terrain of Tatooine only becoming more difficult to fight in as Rey continued to attack him her eyes filled with determination. She was belligerent, each swing of her blade filled with the will to survive. She knew she was alone, she could sense the in the greater world that her parents were both gone, the majority of the ships and fighting forces of the First Order which she had pledged herself to were as well. Her loss would mean the end of the Empire, and she had been expected to keep that dream alive since she was born. Failing now, would make everything she had been told to do useless.

The inner voices in her head were a constant battery of negative thoughts and ancient curses. She swung her lightsaber with more force, a little voice telling her she wasn’t worthy of such an historic weapon. Another voice telling her she was a fraud, another telling her to kill them all that power was the only way she would be happy.

Ben was blocking, never attacking her back. The rain gave another gust and came down even harder it was impossible to see his body as the rain beat off her capped hat, all she could see was the light. She swung, recklessly and he jumped to the side seeing the desperateness that was eating at her.

“Is this what our parents fought for?" Ben yelled the thunder accenting his voice over the pouring rain. "Is this what our fathers die for?" He shook his head, his free hand gesturing at the carnage all around them. "For it to come to this?"

Rey shook her head, looking at him not unlike a child. "I have to win." She replied stubbornly.

"Don’t you see, it doesn’t matter which one of us wins.” He yelled back at her, lowering his lightsaber and extinguishing the blade.  

"How many have fought this very battle before us? How many times have the Jedi faced the Sith? This isn't the way. We can't win if we fight. The Light side and the Dark side, they can't cancel each other out no matter how hard anyone tries.”

She shook her head as she looked at him, standing amongst the field of bodies. “Anakin was the chosen one, the one to help the Jedi and he failed.” She yelled back at him.

Ben shook his head. Luke had been considered the chosen one as well, he had even heard his parents whisper about him or Rey being the chosen one as well when he was a child too. “That’s not what the prophesy was.” Ben replied back at her. “He was meant to bring _balance_ to the Force.”

Rey shrugged as she looked at him. Their grandfather from Tatooine hadn’t done that either. “It didn’t work.” She replied.

“Don’t you see.” He said as he reached out with his hand gesturing between the pair of them. “You and I, we known both sides. We have each walked that of light and the path of the dark. Rey… together we can do what they couldn’t.”

She could feel it, the warmth trying to wrap around her once more. It was all around her, even though she tried to push it away. She was surrounded by the bodies of those who had fought and died for a war which really had no point. The First Order was almost gone, the Empire was almost gone. It could all be over, if she just listened to the call of the universe which had been pulling on her since she was a child.

Jessika was watching her, Leia was watching her, Ben was watching her. She could feel the eyes of the past watching her through the Force all she had to do was take a step forward. “We’re all that’s left Rey.” Ben said as he watched her face twisting in through. “It doesn’t have to be the Jedi and Sith anymore.”

She closed her eyes, listening to the living pulls on her. Two blue kyber crystals, calling for her to take them back to make them whole again. There was something even stronger than the stones, Jessika Pava wishing that their hearts could once again belong to each other.

Rey took a step forward, closing the red blade as the rain began to stop. She looked in the twisted and dark face of her cousin as she said with confidence “We can bring balance to the Force."


	30. Epilogue

Ten Years Later

Slowly his hearing began to return as his ears became unplugged. Yet the sounds he heard were not voices, more of a strong hiss. The sounds of pure energy which was moving all around him, the air had one frequency, the trees had another, the bodies of the other students each had their own resonance. Slowly the humming faded as well, and the seventeen-year-old saw the world around him clearly.

He was sitting on the ground, the grass damp beneath him. He felt alone, but he wasn’t. He was surrounded by a cacophony of other species who all sat on the ground as well, their bodies turned towards the twisted tree which was covered in green spring buds. The old tree had only been planted no more than nine years previous yet it had grown with a rapid abundance which many had taken as a sign of renewal among the galaxy. It wasn’t alone either, taken from a cutting of the original on Yavin the new trees had been successfully planet on over twenty different systems with more and more each year.

Those who knew the value of the tree, who were able to sense the powers which were channeled through its roots were sitting around it. Most of them were in their late teens, though there were a few more than three times that age, and several far younger. Many of them had their eyes closed, their upturned palms resting on knees in meditation. They all shared a connection to the universe, a connection which had been called many things over the course of history. But to those sitting around the tree, hearing the buzzing of the Force at that very moment, they were the Guardians.

“Bee?” He heard a small whisper and turned to see a Twi’lek crawling towards him through the grass. At least he thought she was a Twi’lek, she fit the general description of the species but something was always off about her clearly, she was part something else as well. Her skin was the palest of green and even though he knew she twenty or more years older than him her Lekku only reached her shoulders. She often seemed… human… though he didn’t know how that was possible.

“Dawn” He called out her name in reply as he shuffled towards her. They had known one another for years, she had always taken under her view watching out for him during trainings and missions. Almost like he was her apprentice even though they didn’t have apprentices anymore.

Slowly the eyes of the other creatures sitting around the tree began to open as well. He could tell from the dazed expressions that they too were undergoing the strange buzzing sensation that he too had felt. The audible buzzing had stopped in his ears, but he could still tell that the flow of energy was surrounding him, he could always still tell it was there, it was why they were there in the first place.

He watched as Dawn grew closer. He often wondered how old she really was, she had a knowledge of Guardians that came before them which he always questioned. She spoke of the Empire and Clones, her human like eyes seemed to hide more than he knew. She was old enough to have remembered the time of war, of that he was certain, but which war was a story for another day.

“Your parents are here.” She whispered.

He smiled. Dawn helped pull him to his feet, allowing him to see the horizon of the planet before him. The platforms within the trees created a city floating high above the forest floor, he was used to seeing the little fires in the distance and the swinging carts which helped carry the non-Wookies from platform to platform. But the only thing about Kashyyyk that he never got used to was that the growing tree was sprouting forth from one of the platforms itself rather than the surface of the planet.

The pair moved past the Force sapling and he collection of surrounding platforms which made up the school that had been established on Kashyyyk. Not a true temple or holy center, these fledgling areas had been instituted across the galaxy to help guide those who could sense the Force. Dawn had been left in charge of the Kashyyyk station for the moment. The network was still small, but ever growing. As Dawn chose to remind him, the ability of others to sense the Force had never truly gone away. Even during the dark times in recent history, the flame could not be extinguished.

They took one of the swinging carts over to the landing platform where several ships of different makes and models had landed. He stood with a large smile on his face as he looked at the two familiar freighters which had landed. One was a large and sleek customized ship, the other was an old Corellian piece of scrap which had been loving restored over the years even though it was still a series of mismatched colors and parts.

A red skinned girl came running down the ramp of the fancy looking ship, a little orange and white droid chasing after her as she ran across the landing strip with little abandon. “Blue.” Tanmo called out as she ran towards her brother. He bent down and wrapped the Zeltron girl in a tight embrace. They were both different species but it didn’t seem to matter. He and his siblings had all been adopted after the war had ended, it hadn’t mattered to his parents that his older brother was a Rodian or his second sister was Transdoshan.  But out of his four siblings he had been the only one would could sense the Force. He hadn’t been sent away from his family, they didn’t do that anymore, but had spent time learning how to be a Guardian of the Force.

“BB” Tanmo called out in a little scalding voice as she looked down at the droid with a frown. Its arm like appendages came out and waved around in the air.

“BB-8, go do your job and unload supply crates” He looked to see father sighing at the family droid in exasperation. Ten years and four children had turned Poe Dameron’s hair grey yet he still smiled youthfully as his son as he pulled the boy in to a tight embrace. “You going to be ready to go with us.” He asked his son as he looked out on the forests of Kashyyyk, Poe had managed to see so much of the galaxy in his lifetime, and yet he still had the nagging feeling there was more that he had not seen.

“You really want me to come with you?”

“Norge.” Poe said with a sigh, calling his child by his real name. Blue had just been a nickname which Jessika had used incessantly on all his children until it stuck with one of them. “It helps when we have someone who can sense the crystals when we go looking for them.”

The natural resources of Kyber Crystals had been nearly depleted, but the galaxy seemed to have a way of bouncing back more quickly than they could imagine. “I thought dad said he could sense them?” He said with a glance over his shoulder as he looked at his other father. Doctor Finn Dameron was standing on the platform doing his best not to looked intimidated by the Wookie towering next to him, but it was a species the solider turned Doctor had never managed to become comfortable with.

Poe laughed. “The man’s held a lightsaber half a dozen times in his life and suddenly he thinks he’s a…” He caught himself from saying Jedi. There weren’t any Jedi anymore. “A Guardian.” 

Norge Blue Dameron gave a sharp nod to his father as he felt his hand slip naturally against the lightsaber that he wore. It was an adventure not many else got to have, it would be a great story to tell. “When are we leaving?” He asked his father.

“Soon.” Poe replied as he looked over at other ship on the landing platform. It didn’t look like the _Millennium Falcon_ , it wasn’t the same model or even the same era, but it gave off the same feel.  An old mythical ship which sailed through the sky more famous than its inhabitants.

Inside there is a woman sitting at the control panel, her dark hair cropped closely against her face as she punches as the button planning the next system which they will be jumping too. Jessika assumes they will only spend a few rotations on Kashyyyk. For the past ten years, it’s all they have ever managed to do. There still aren’t enough who feel the call of the Force to create a new network of teaching and protecting. There will never been enough in their lifetime, but they can begin the foundations of a new order with good intentions.

“The boys are here. Are you going to say hi?” Jessika calls out as a figure moved past in the corridor beyond. She hears as the footsteps turn and Rey clad in a grey jacket and pants stands behind her.

Rey leaned forward placing her arms around the pilot and kissing her softly on the top of her head. Attachments, she reminded herself with a second kiss were needed to keep one sane sometimes. “Might as well.” She replied with a small chirp as she looked at the navigation screen. “Orn Mantell seems out of the way. I thought we were going to Nar Shadda?”

Jessika shook her head. Sometimes it seemed as if those years had never happened at all, others time it was all she could remember. “That’s Hutt Space.” She corrected Rey.

Rey shook her head in objection. “The Hutt’s won’t give Ben a problem.” She says softly. The fear and reservation that the globous species had was rooted in the face that in the darker corners of the universe Leia Organa had been known as the Hutt Slayer, the reputation continued to serve her son well.

“He’s coming with us?” Jessika asked, surprise.

“He’s just here to check in on Chewie.”

“Oh.” Jess muttered. She looked up at the sky above, it was clear for the moment. The outline of a neighboring moon sharply visible above the canopy of trees.

“Rey.” She turned to see Ben standing behind them in the door to the cockpit. He was dressed plainly more like farmer than in any sort of robes or tunics. His face was still twisted in the occasional shadow, his soul was still worn down by the deeds of his youth but his time and energy was dedicated in his work. “We have a lesson to teach.”

Rey looked at him and nodded, outside beneath an old tree were some of the students who they had managed to find in the universe. They had so much, still left to teach the world about the ways of the Force, about the pulls of good and evil in the universe. She looked at her cousin and nodded; “Yes, we do.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Its certainly been a very long time since I tried by hand at a Star Wars fic so I hope everything is up to snuff.  
> I promise that the next chapter will be more fluffy.  
> I'm aiming for weekly updates, but life can get in the way of that.


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